#I think there are subtle changes but I went for a mostly in-loop approach

[2isted-chocol8-art]

Would you be interested in making one of those ship chart things for the time buddies ? I dont have a specific one in mind (if you dont know what I mean looking up “ship chart template” gets you stuff) but im curious what your headcanons would look like on one of those

Thank you for the ask!! It was surprisingly harder to fill up than what I expected, but really really fun! It also helped me define a bunch of headcanons I had, so that's always nice. I'm not writing all of them down because this would become incrediby long, but if you want me to elaborate on any of these points, feel free to ask!! Blank template below the cut, if someone wants to do one of these too:

I couldn't find the name of the author, so if you guys know it I'd appreciate it if you let me know!

[reallydumbdannyphantomaus]

Reset

chapter 2 babes! i'm thinking this will only be like 10 chaps. anyway, enjoy! (ao3) (1)

Chapter 2

Loop 2

Jazz pounded on his door. “Danny, if you’re not ready in 15 minutes, you can take the bus to school! I’m not waiting!”

A time loop. A goddamn time loop. This would happen to him.

Danny sat up, resting a hand on his chin. He and Sam and Tucker had talked about time loops before, what they would do, but that was mostly focused on the Groundhog Day type of loop, where the day being repeated is otherwise innocuous. This loop, on the other hand…

The end of the world. Or, at least, the end of Casper High. That’s what would happen sometime around the end of the school day today.

“Okay,” he said. “What do I know?”

Well, it was ghost related. Figures, really, in the ghost capital of the world, but his ghost sense went off right before the explosion in both loops.

Differences between the loops? Well, the obvious one was that Paulina and Valerie didn’t fight in English, but did that mean they were in the loop, too? Or had one of the subtle changes he’d made throughout the day change that part as well?

It didn’t matter, he supposed. If Paulina was in the loop, she’d be useless. Valerie could be helpful, but he’d almost certainly need to be Phantom for some of this and that always made working with Valerie difficult. Best course of action was to contact Sam and Tucker, let them know what was going on, then investigate what the threat was and stop it before it got there.

Simple.

He pulled out his phone and sent out a quick text.

To: Sam, Tucker

hey so i think im in a time loop

From: Sam

for real???

From: Tucker

????

To: Sam, Tucker

yeah i lived today twice already. the bad news is that the day keeps ending with the school exploding

From: Tucker

WHAT

danny I’m too young to die

To: Sam, Tucker

been there done that

From: Tucker

D:

To: Sam, Tucker

anyway its got smthn to do with ghosts so im taking the day to investigate

any ideas?

From: Sam

go to clockwork dude

To: Sam, Tucker

OH YEAH

time ghost

this is why youre the smart one

ill let u know how it goes

From: Tucker

good luck dude

don’t die again

From: Sam

let us know if u need anything

Danny locked his phone, then sent Jazz a quick text that he had a ghost problem to deal with before transforming and sinking through the floor of his room, all the way down to his parents’ lab.

Whenever he went into the ghost zone, it always took him the better part of an hour to adjust to all the green. It was overwhelming in its ubiquity and too long of an excursion always left him with a headache. He understood the ghosts invading Amity Park a little better each time he visited.

Clockwork’s lair was at the far end of the zone, away from most other ghosts. Clockwork had once told him that this was a restriction placed on him to keep him from being too powerful, one of many. The Observants were in charge of making sure Clockwork didn’t go rogue and shape the world to his liking, limiting how often he could affect the time stream, in what ways, for what purpose. Clockwork, for all his power, was a prisoner.

(“That’s ridiculous,” Danny had said. “You’re out here trying to save the world and preserve the timeline.”

Clockwork looked away. “I wasn’t always.”

Danny didn’t ask.)

So when he approached Clockwork’s lair, only to be rebuffed by a shimmering force field, he wasn’t surprised. Upset? Yes. Concerned? Yes. Afraid? Obviously. But after all of Clockwork’s meddling during the Dan fiasco, the Observants had been extra cautious about not allowing him to interfere.

The Observants would let the world end to ensure Clockwork was punished, it seemed.

Danny frowned. No, that didn’t make sense. Clockwork had been ordered to kill him once, to save the world. What pissed the Observants off was that he’d instead chosen to save both the world and Danny. So maybe then this time loop was enough for him to save the world, but the Observants didn’t want Clockwork to meddle any more than that? Or something like that, anyway.

Ugh. Why did everything involving Clockwork have to be so cryptic and complicated?

“Now what?” he said.

He wasn’t any closer to figuring out what was going on. He was alone in the middle of the ghost zone, no allies in sight, enemies sure to find him soon…

Wait. Enemies?

Danny scanned the area. Sure enough, no one was around. This was normal for Clockwork’s domain, but he usually had to fight someone on the way from the portal to here. Skulker chased him past the Infinite Vortex. Johnny 13 tried to get him to smoke with him. Ember wanted to test out her new songs on him. Frostbite wanted to hang out.

He’d seen no one. The ghost zone was a ghost town.

He held his breath and listened for the sound of someone. Anyone.

In the distance, he heard what sounded like marching. 

When he flew toward it, he recognized the direction he was heading in. It took him ten minutes worth of flying before he placed it, though, and he could only hope he was wrong.

As the sound got louder, he knew he wasn’t.

“Oh no,” he said as he approached Pariah’s Keep. “Oh fuck.”

Thousands of skeleton ghosts—Pariah’s army—stood and thudded their swords into their shields as they strode forward in organized units. Above them, from the balcony of his castle, stood Pariah Dark himself, Ring of Rage on his hand but Crown of Fire nowhere to be found. Small mercies.

Behind him knelt the Fright Knight. Last Danny had heard, the Fright Knight was working with Vlad, and yet, here he was with his old master.

This was bad. This was all very, very bad.

“Intruder!” The cry rang out from the assembled army. Danny jolted as a number of the skeletons reached out and pointed at his hiding place. “Intruder!”

“Kill the interloper, Knight.” Pariah’s voice never rose in pitch, yet it carried itself across the battlefield and settled itself as a knot of ice in Danny’s spine. He’d barely survived the last fight with Pariah when he’d had the exoskeleton and the rest of the ghost zone on his side. What chance did he have now?

Danny turned and fled.

Right into the Fright Knight’s sword.

“Sorry, ghost brat,” the Fright Knight said, twisting the sword in Danny’s chest. Danny choked on blood and ectoplasm. “But I don’t have time to play with you today.”

The world faded out again.

--

“Val, I’m heading to bed. Have a good day at school, sweetheart. I’ll see you for dinner? My shift starts at 8, can you be home in time?”

Valerie drew in ragged breaths. It happened again. She’d seen the world—or at least Casper High—get blown up twice now. That was too real to be a dream. She—everyone had—

“Valerie?” her dad said. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah,” she said, forcing the word through her tight throat. Then again, loud enough for Dad to hear. “Yeah! Sorry, I’ll, uh, I’ll be home for dinner.”

“Good. Good morning!”

Valerie choked down a sob. “Good morning, Dad.”

Valerie gave herself one minute after her Dad closed the door to his bedroom to freak out. One minute to cry and lose her mind. Once the clock on her beside ticked over to 7:18, she took deep breaths, wiped down her eyes, and got to business.

What did she know? She pulled out the dream journal she kept by her bed and turned to an empty page. Sometime during the last class of the day, Casper High would be attacked. This last loop saw her in the classroom instead of outside the principal’s office, so she saw the green glow approach just before the end. Ghosts, then. It was always ghosts, wasn’t it?

The first time, Paulina had started a fight with her. The second time, that didn’t happen. Had she somehow changed the outcome just by knowing what was going to happen? Or was Paulina stuck in a loop with her?

Valerie groaned. As useful as it might be to have some help with whatever was going on, she half-hoped that Paulina wasn’t involved. Her ex-friend wasn’t exactly at the top of the list of “People She’d Like To Be In A Time Loop With” after all.

She chewed on her lip. However, if Paulina was in the loop, it could mean that Danny was, too. They were all in the same place during the first loop; could all three of them be in this together? If so, it might even be worth dealing with Paulina. Danny was easily in the top three of her time loop list, right there with her dad and Star. Maybe the two of them could work together and let Paulina do whatever.

She stopped writing. This was all speculative now. The best way to figure anything out was to head to school. If Danny and Paulina remembered, they were bound to be acting strange.

She started to take off her Dumpty Humpty sleep shirt, then paused. What better way to signal to anyone else caught in the loop that she was stuck too than coming to school in her pajamas? It stuck out enough that someone reliving the same day would definitely notice her. Plus, it would save her some time.

So, instead of showering and changing, she swiped under her pits with deodorant and headed off to school.

--

Neither Paulina nor Danny were in school today.

On the plus side, that pretty much confirmed that they were stuck in the loop. They hadn’t missed the last two loops, after all. On the downside, now she looked like an idiot for no reason.

She didn’t even realize that they weren’t there until lunchtime. It wasn’t like she shared a lot of classes with them, and she didn’t have their schedules memorized. Only once she saw Tucker and Sam eating alone, Dash and Kwan laughing with Star, but not Paulina, did she realize that they weren’t there. She hit herself in the forehead. Of course. If you keep reliving the school blowing up, you’ll probably avoid the school. That made sense. It wouldn’t work, of course, but it made sense.

She should go check on Danny. The poor guy was terrified of ghosts; reliving a deadly ghost attack must be his worst nightmare.

After fifth period, she slipped out the back door of the school, summoned her Red Huntress suit to the surface, and zoomed toward FentonWorks.

She slowed as she neared the building, always easy to spot with the hulking metal contraption on top (Danny said it was the Ops Center; Valerie said it was ugly as sin). Peeking through the downstairs window, she spotted Dr. Maddie Fenton welding something at a workstation in the kitchen while Dr. Jack Fenton helped himself to a massive ham sandwich.

No sign of Danny.

She hovered up to the window outside his room. It was dark inside; she couldn’t make out if the shape on his bed was just his covers or if he was huddled inside. She rapped her knuckles on the windowpane. No response.

There wasn’t time for this.

She yanked the window up, busting the lock. The suit really was amazing; she’d never been so strong before. Slipping inside, she could see that the bed was, in fact, empty. Oh well. The window would be fixed when the loop reset.

“Where could he be?” she whispered to herself. Not upstairs, not downstairs.

Maybe… the basement?

She opened Danny’s door and slunk through the hallway, hugging the shadows and stepping toe-to-foot to muffle her footsteps. She needn’t have worried: a horde of elephants trampling through their living room wouldn’t have distracted the Fentons from their work.

She crept down the stairs into the Fentons’ infamous lab, lit by the same green glow that preceded the explosion in the last loop. Danny was, again, nowhere to be found.

Did he leave? Just… run away? No. He wouldn’t have left his family behind. He wouldn’t have left Sam and Tucker behind to die.

Would he?

As she turned to leave the basement, she heard a clattering sound behind her. Spinning back around, she saw skeletons, a horde of skeleton warriors, crawling out of the open portal.

She would deny it to the day she died for real, but she did scream.

She pulled out her ecto gun and began blasting away, but there were too many of them. Soon, she was overpowered, trampled under the boots of long-dead soldiers called to fight again.

One of them stepped on her head. She heard a squish and then there was nothing.

--

Paulina didn’t want to go to school.

School was going to blow up anyway, and there was no point in her getting blown up with everyone else. It wasn’t even a bomb or anything; no, it was a ghost attack, of-fucking-course. It wasn’t like she could do anything to stop it.

So she was staying home. It’s not like there was anyone else here to notice.

She texted Dash, Kwan, and Star and told them not to go to school. They asked why. She couldn’t think of a good answer. Not one they’d believe. She said she was sick and needed company. Star said she couldn’t afford another absence. Dash said he had a really important presentation today that he couldn’t miss. Kwan said he had something special planned today. They all promised to come visit after school.

Idiots. There wouldn’t be an after.

She laid in bed, feeling sorry for herself, eating a tub of low-fat sugar-free frozen yogurt and watching shitty romcoms on Netflix. Not for the first time, she found herself fantasizing about a bowl of real Rocky Road ice cream, but Alma was on strict orders from Paulina’s mother not to let anything with sugar in the house.

The hours passed slowly. Sam and Austin drove off to Princeton. The dancer learned to be true to herself and open to love. One of them had a bear, she was pretty sure. Maybe?

She dozed off at some point. When she woke up, her back was starting to hurt from laying horizontal for so long. She ate more disgusting frozen yogurt. She watched a game show that she forgot the premise of immediately. Looked at the clock. It was almost 3:00. It would be soon.

She threw up her frozen yogurt in the toilet.

Her friends were going to die.

Her friends were going to die.

Her friends were going to die.

Then she heard it. A boom so loud and powerful it shook the foundation of her house. Tears slipped out of her eyes.

“Oh god. Oh god. No. No!”

She looked out her window. In the streets, glowing skeletons marched, killing anyone who stood in their way. She watched as dozens of the idiotic agents of the Guys In White flew in on their ridiculous jetpacks and began firing away. But for each skeletal soldier that fell, five more took their place. The agents were soon overwhelmed, dragged down to Earth and ripped apart.

Paulina threw up again, this time on the floor. She was screaming and crying, she knew, but it all felt distant. Like it was happening to someone else. Like the skeleton breaking down her door wasn’t coming for her, but some other Paulina.

When they cut off her head, she didn’t feel a thing.

[smutty-ki113r]

🎠Laughing Jack🎠|| Carousel

Fluff one-shot x gn!reader— only warning is angst (2.6k)

Inspired by: Melanie Martinez

After months of endless nagging you finally convinced Laughing Jack to let you visit his amusement park. He had claimed it was too scary and you would get creeped out but you weren’t one to take no for an answer.

Giving you a piece of candy so the trans-dementional trip wouldn’t be too hard on you. Tasting the sour lemon taffy he gave you and making a tense face as the flavor pulled at your taste buds and stuck to your teeth.

Your head getting dizzy as your surroundings warped and his room became red and white vertical stripes. Blinking a couple times as he leaned into your face, “are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” You told him, almost falling back at how close he was. As soon as your perception adjusted you looked for the exit to the tent you were inside. “Onward!” You said excited, marching comedically to the entrance flap.

“This isn’t exactly the safest place”, he called from behind, catching up with ease because his legs were so long. “You need to stay close to me at all times” you smiled at him, it’s not like you were complaining, “got that?”

Giving him a keen nod you stepped out of the grand tent. Squinting at the sky, which was tainted a dusty gray, swirly clouds amber of scattered around in the background. The carnival was beautifully revolting, with littered attractions as far as the eye could see.

The place looked somewhat abandoned, if you get past the faint cries of children, from their souls stored in toys. Rides that once colored a vibrant red had paint chipped, specks of dull metal flaked over the bars.

Game stands broken down and leaning unsteadily, disturbing toys with eyes and limbs missing hanging from the top. It looked like it might fall down at any minute, but you couldn’t help but notice the newer looking boxes of supplies lying around next to the stands.

Fairy lights hung from the tilted signs, decorating the food court. A fresh trail had been made between the rides.

It warmed your heart that he had made subtle efforts to fix the place up, he certainly didn’t think you would notice.

Looking back at his nervous smile, Jack was terrified you would hate the place. You thought all but the opposite, giving him a big grin. Your expression relaxed him, assuring him that you wouldn’t think he was a freak and leave. His whole demeanor shifting, making him more comfortable and even enthusiastic.

Straightening out and giving you jazz hands, “what are you waiting for?” putting one hand on his hip to motion you to the park with the other “lets go have fun!”

Following behind you with a giggle as you approached the carnival games. The ring toss looking somewhat appealing in between the other activities, so you told him you wanted to play.

“Basically you get 5 rings, if you get at least 3 in the pins you win a prize” he explained.

“Alright alright lemme try” you waved him off, snatching the rings and giving one a toss. It missed, you brushed it off. The second one made it in and Jack gave a little cheer, it still wasn’t enough.

Hyperfocusing on the pin in the middle make a soft throw upward, the edge hitting the top of the pin and falling to the side. You gave a groan, calculating your last two throws.

Your forth throw made the pin to the side, and you only had one more try left. Aiming for another pin at the side to release, the ring clanging against it and falling to the floor.

You went to look at Jack with a frown but he wore a happy expression, “you won!” He exclaimed. Confused you turned back, finding the ring you had just tossed around the last pin. You were completely certain you had missed it, racking your mind for an explanation as jack handed you a small purple bunny that was missing an arm.

Realizing that Jack had manipulating the game so you could win, throwing him a knowing glance. He just happened to be looking away, whistling guiltily.

Squeezing the bunny you moved onto the next game, it was ballon dart toss. The stand had pale red and black balloons scattered across a board. Excitement was written all over his face, you cocked an eyebrow in question.

“It’s a two person game!” He said, “whoever pops more balloons wins!”

He handed you four darts and kept four for himself, “you can go first” he motioned with a grin. Pacing the dart in two fingers a couple times before throwing at a balloon. Giving a groan when you missed and waiting for him to go.

Being as skilled as he was he managed to land one in a bullseye. “Oh it’s on” you dared, getting one point yourself. LJ got the second one too, staring at you intensely as you evened out the score.

Giving him a small smile as the dart broke the surface of the balloon with a sharp noise “pop goes the weasel right?” You laughed, referring to his famous song.

He looked at you almost in shock, taken aback by your joke. Shaking himself into reality he broke out in a light blush, a part of him touched, as if you were accepting him for who he was.

Too distracted by your eyes on him to play the game with concentration. Missing the third one with a growl he waited for you to take your turn, which you lost. It was the last point and Jack was a shoe in, so obviously he took the victory.

You were happy for him, passing along a “good job!” as he retrieved the big brown teddy bear that was half his size, and all of yours. It was missing an eye, thin stands of makeshift fur pulled out and a silky red bow around it’s neck.

“Here” he said, dangling it in front of you.

“For me?” You asked, “but you won”, trying to look up at him but the bear blocked most of your view, only letting you see above his nose.

“Just take it” he practically pushed it into you, making you blow out an oof.

Holding it to the side at the torso with one hand you broke out in a grin “thank you for the plushie” you said, hugging him from the side and squeezing his torso “but I want you to be my teddy” you laughed. He looked incredibly flustered, frozen as you broke away.

“You’re big and tall” you tippy toed up to give his shoulder pad feathers a ruffle “and fluffy”

The man looked like he was about to faint so you decided to knock it off, laughing and telling him you wanted to go on the carousel next. Quickly, LJ happily led you too it, skipping in front of you (mostly to hide his blush).

Standing at the controls to cue a round, watching you walk around to find a pretty horse. Given, all of them had dark spots and chipped paint, but they worked all the same. Leaving the bear on another horse and climbing onto a white one that had a yellow saddle, intricate lacy designs patterned on the sides. Royal blue reigns across it’s chest and a lion on a crest.

It was beautiful, and you traced your fingers on the drawing. It must have been stunning, but the weathering of time and agony had gotten to it. A painful reminder of what was, a mere reflection of the chipping away of a joyful being.

Prying away from your thoughts as you felt the vibrations of Jack stepping onto the walkway- with one of his big smiles. Even after everything, he still wore a smile. It made you want to tear up, he really needed all the love he could get.

He was too tall to get on a horse, so he just stood by you. His big hand gracing the golden pole and holding on, watching as you peeked up at him. Even though his eyes were constantly bright he displayed something…deeper. It was a sort of shine, a sparkle if you will, luminosity glazed over in such a way that one can only get lost in its vastness.

The looped music in the background was secondary as you rose up and down with the horse, giving Jack a little smile and thanking him for bringing you here. “I’m having a lot of fun with you” you noted.

“Well of course you are! It’s a carnival” he said with joy.

“No I mean with you” you clarified “you’re pretty great Jack”. This time he didn’t avoid your gaze, his mouth open slightly, not knowing how to react to the sincerity of the compliment.

The ride slowly came to a stop, and you were feeling slightly tingly. Maybe it was the air, or the loss of focus. “How about a roller coaster?” You dared, to which he gave a tense face.

“Those are pretty broken, you’ll probably die riding one and that’s not what we want” he said, stepping off the carousel. “How about some cotton candy instead?”

You nodded your head vigorously, following him in the pursuit for the fairy floss, the bear falling behind forgotten. Passing by more unused rides that had long past rusted and a house of mirrors to get to the food court.

Jack humming happily as he dipped a paper cone into the bowl of revolving fibers of sugar. Whipping up a swirly pink and blue cotton candy and handing it to you with a proud smile.

He went to make another treat until you spoke, “I’m not that hungry so we can share” you proposed. “If you want”

“Are you sure?” He asked, concerned that you didn’t have much appetite. “Do you want some candy or maybe a funnel cake?”

You shook him off, taking a bite out of the cloud-like dessert. It was absolutely delicious, honeyed and saccharine on your tongue in a blend of flavor you had never tasted had before.

Soft as it disintegrated onto your mouth, leaving behind a remanence of something too sweet. Bringing it up to Jack, who was so tall you had to extend your arm fully to get it to his mouth.

He simply laughed at your struggle, taking a bite before giving you a thin smile and taking it from your hand. Sitting down at a bench so that you could both share comfortably.

By the time the candy had finished you noticed little bits of the silky texture stuck on his nose. Painfully stifling a laugh you turned away.

“What’s so funny?” He asked with a genuine smile.

When you didn’t answer his tone changed, “what’s so funny huh?” he sounded a bit angered.

Hiccuping through your laughter you faced him, leaning in real close to his face, enough so that you could feel the heat emanating from it; taking a bite of the pink woven candy on his nose and holding it in your teeth.

His face went red at the sight, embarrassed that he had cotton candy on his nose. Well, that and for a moment he thought you were going to kiss him.

Noticing your hands were all sticky you asked him if there was a sink somewhere. After both of you washed your hands you sat back down at the bench.

The sky was going dark, the poofs of dusty cloud fading in with the night but still managing to remain visible. You heard a whirr as Jack turned on all the rides at the carnival, lighting the whole thing up.

You sat in awe, a mere spectator in the empty yet live amusement park. Admiring the music that added to the ambiance, watching Jack approach you.

“Wanna take a walk?” He asked, but there was something…off. LJ seemed nervous as you got up and walked next to him.

He had been thinking about it for a while now, probably even before he brought you to the carnival. Even though he had washed the gooey candy from his hands they were still sticky, but it was from sweat. Giving you side glances as you paced the trail with him.

Debating to himself whether or not he should do it, if you would hate him for it. Telling himself that he would regret it if he didn’t, but thinking about the potential negative reactions you could give.

Passing the carousel once again as you noticed the usually loud and happy clown was silent, lost in thought as he stared into the distance, his lips forming a tensing line.

Wondering if he was ok, but brining up the topic might make him uneasy. Perhaps you being there at his haunted amusement park was ticking him off, or if you taking that cotton floss off his nose was too much, or if you were pushing your luck, or worse what if you triggered hi-

All thoughts faded from your mind the moment you felt a slow, shaky hand grasp onto yours. You had to look to where he held you because he was so gentile you thought it was the wind. Holding onto you softly enough that it felt like a feather, somehow still creating a little pocket of warmth between you.

A glowing thump of heat pulsing inside your chest, happiness digging into your cells and giving you the confidence to squeeze his hand.

He let out a sharp inhale at the feel, still avoiding your gaze as he relaxed into your touch. Not daring to move his hand too much or he might risk ruining the moment, afraid of hurting you with his claws.

Approaching the Ferris wheel he finally spoke, “this is probably the one ride that won’t break”, not a peep about holding you. “Do you want to go on?”

You finally caught his gaze, absolutely melting at the smile in his eyes. Responding with a ‘yes’ and letting him open the door for you. Sustaining his grip with you as he helped you on, not letting go even after you sat.

The cart wasn’t exactly small, but with a guy the size of Jack it was pretty compacted. It’s not like you minded, the lack of space gave you an excuse to bunch up alongside him. The feathers from his pads tickling your face as you rested on him.

Watching the view as the cart took you higher and higher, it was perfect. The evening set in the rich obscurity of the night, lights of the festival blinking as if they had a life of their own. The bulbs on the stands making z’s as they illuminated the red and white drapes of the far off tents.

Jack held your hand with such care and caress, you gave him a reassuring press to let him know it was ok. He was so enveloped with the passionate act that he squeezed as well. Letting you feel all the dips and curves of his hand. Clutching onto you, as if you might disappear too.

Facing him to cup his cheek with your free hand, caressing him and tucking a stand of hair behind his ear. Trailing your thumb across his skin and feeling him lean into your touch, swearing that between the lines on the pad of your finger there was a tear that you had wiped away.

Getting lost in the breaths you shared as you inched closer to his lips, giving him a second of warmth longer to prove that you weren’t going anywhere.

[hq--fics]

hi! could u pls write how kuroo,bokuto,semi and oikawa would react to going to the beach with their gf and teammates and getting jealous when everyone’s staring at her in bikini?💖

A/N:  Oh anon you’ve spoiled me with multiple boys to write! Thank you so much for the request. I really hope you like it and I hope that I wrote Semi well enough!

Prompt list: here or feel free to request your own scenarios **Requests are open**

“Going to the beach with their gf and teammates and getting jealous when everyone’s staring at her in a bikini” w/Kuroo, Bokuto, Semi, and Oikawa 

Words: 4247

Warnings: some swearing

Masterlist

---------------------------

Kuroo

You both had planned this trip to the beach over a week ago; picking a day that you were both free and knew the weather would be great. This was to be a day for both of you to have fun and relax. Of course the entire team were invited to really make the most of the day, they needed the chance to unwind too.

When you all arrived at the beach and set up your own area to hang out and start having fun you blinked in surprise to see most of the guys strip down to their swimming trunks and make a beeline for one of the free beach volleyball nets while shouting out who would be on which team. Kuroo didn’t even give you a second look, his eyes set solely on the net. It wasn’t that you minded him playing it was the fact that he didn’t ask you to join them. Hell you would have taken a quick kiss on the cheek before he sprinted off, a sign that he hadn’t forgotten your presence was all you wanted.    

Glancing back you saw Kenma perched on one of the beach chairs, he’d changed too but obviously had no interest in playing volleyball. His eyes were trained on the game console in hand. You didn’t want to disturb him and looked over to smirk as Yaku had wasted no time in deciding flirting with some girls would be more fun and you felt your presence would probably throw him off. Not wanting to spoil the mood you pulled off your tank top and shorts to show the red bikini with white polka dots you were wearing underneath.

Grabbing the sarong from your bag you tied it around your waist only now noticing that Kenma’s game was silent you looked to see your boyfriend’s best friend staring at you, a small dusting of pink on his cheeks which you pretended not to notice. “Not that he will but if Kuroo asks, I’ve gone for a walk.” You said dropping your sunglasses from your head to settle over your eyes as you began to walk along the warm sand in the opposite direction of Kuroo.

When they stopped for a break the guys went to one of the coolers brought and grabbed a drink. By now Yaku had returned from his flirting and had been sunbathing while Kenma hadn’t budged from his seat. Only now did Kuroo spot what was wrong with the picture. With a frown he looked around, eyes drifting to the water in case you’d gone for a swim. “She went for a walk.” Kenma spoke up, not needing to look away from his screen to know what was going through his best friend’s mind. “She told me to tell ‘Kuroo’ if he asked.” The others winced and Kuroo felt nervous. You’d been together for so long that you only ever called him by his last name if you were annoyed at him.

Then from a short distance away they all heard cheering and your name. All attention turned in the direction of the commotion. Their eyes widened, jaws dropping in unison as they saw you in your bikini for the first time. To make things worse they watched your lithe form diving to successfully receive the ball spiked towards your side of the net and you hit the sand with a laugh. Your receive let your teammate deliver the winning spike and your game was finished. Kuroo tore his gaze from you to the spectators-mostly male he noted- eyeing you and he felt his eye twitch. Then you had to let one of them help pull you to your feet, his fingers lingering on your arm just a little too long for his liking. You laughed at something the guy had said and you looked down at your sand dusted form. Innocently you removed the sarong from your waist and shook off the sand before using it to wipe the remnants on your skin all while your admirers watched intently.

Unable to hold back anymore he crossed the sand closing in on you. At his approach you lowered your sunglasses to look over the rim at him. “Ah Kuroo, this is Sato, Ikeda, and Hara.” You introduced with a beaming smile. “They were so kind to invite me to play with them when they saw me on my own, wasn’t that nice of them?” Your tone was playful and light but Kuroo swiftly felt the sharpness of your point, the jealousy he’d felt brewing was now mixing with the stronger sense of guilt.

“Thanks for keeping her company guys,” he said not looking anywhere but you. Swiftly he took the sarong from your loosened grasp and draped it around your shoulders before pulling you close against his chest. His lips captured yours insistently. He would admit part of it was to make a point to the admirers who might have had deluded themselves into thinking you were single but mostly his kiss was to show you how much he loved you. “How ‘bout some one on one time? You can call me a dumbass the whole time.” “Oh Tetsu, you are a dumbass.” You laughed out before pressing a quick kiss on his lips “but you’re my dumbass.” You added as you ducked under his arm as you started walking back to the rest of the Nekoma team, allowing him a full view of you in your bikini as he gave chase.

Bokuto

The trip was like everything with Bokuto, spontaneous. The sun was out, you were both free so it was decided the day would be spent with the beach. As you got your stuff together you heard Bokuto on the phone to the rest of the Fukurodani team and the managers to tell them where to meet you. Your excitement at the prospect of it just being you and Bokuto did deflate a little but as you listened to him ramble about how awesome it was going to be with everyone your mood picked up quickly once more.  

While the guys went to find a place on the beach for you all, you and the two managers went to change into your swimsuits. When you emerged the two girls squealed; being so unused to Bokuto’s quieter half dressed the way you were. Immediately you became self-conscious and bit your lower lip looking down at the black bikini decorated with a golden feather pattern. It showed off your form perfectly but now you wondered should you go back and change. However both girls grabbed you hands and dragged you out into the sunshine in search of the guys.

By the time you, Yukie, and Kaori arrived the three of you had already amassed an interested following. Mostly it was just long appreciative stares but on the walk some did try to approach but the two managers were quick to brush them off as they kept their arms looped through yours protectively. “Hey, hey, hey!” Yukie called out playfully when she spotted the guys already playing with a volleyball, passing it idly from one to the other. At the signature call they all looked over. Bokuto’s golden eyes widened along with his grin when he saw you, shamelessly looking your bikini and your exposed skin. He was the luckiest guy on earth, he seriously wondered sometimes how he managed to get a girl like you but so long as you were happy to be with him he wasn’t going to question it.

However Bokuto’s focus being solely on you meant he failed to spot all of the looks aimed your way from strangers on the beach. Well he noticed a few stares but to him that was natural, you were gorgeous why wouldn’t you get looked at? What he truly failed to pick up on was the true meaning behind the stares and before that could become apparent Konoha challenging the others to a chicken fight distracted him. Eyes shining, Bokuto grabbed your hand and grinned at you excitedly. “Want to play babe? Together we can’t lose!”

“I’ll play later,” you promised with a large smile, your previous nervousness about how you were dressed had melted away. “I want to soak up as much sun as I can first. You go on though.” That was all Bokuto needed to hear. After giving you a kiss he turned and bolted down towards the sea with the others wanting to play while shouting he was going to win. Laughing at his antics you settled onto the beach chair to read the book you brought and enjoy the sun’s warmth.

Unfortunately other people had very different ideas. Even with some of the guys playing nearby and Kaori and Yukie lounging in their seats on either side of you, guys still approached in the hopes of flirting with you, inviting you to go get a drink or snack, or wanting to know if you wanted to go for a walk or swim with them. Kind as ever you let each person down, your friends letting you handle yourself knowing only to step in should things take a turn. Thankfully everyone seemed understanding enough and left without much hassle.

On the one hand it was nice to be complimented but when it was incessant, each new approach chipped away at your relaxed, cheerful mood to the point you felt tense and on edge just waiting for the next ‘excuse me’ or not-so subtle clearing of a throat to get your attention. Grumbling to yourself you snapped your book shut no longer able to immerse yourself in the story and fished out your mp3 player. Headphones in and music playing you got comfy and closed your eyes already hidden by your sunglasses. Why hadn’t you done this sooner?

Down by the sea Bokuto hadn’t witnessed any of the attention you were getting but the others did to the point they started to make it their main line of conversation. At first Bokuto thought it was their strategy to distract him enough so they could win against him. “Can you blame people from wanting to talk to her? She’s funny and beautiful. She’s the best!” “I don’t think talking is all these guys have on their mind…” Akaashi finally spoke up and when he heard his best friend’s insistence that they were telling him the true he took it a little more seriously all the while trying to ignore the twisting in his stomach. “Look she can handle herself. She’s stronger than other people give her credit for.” He stated with a final shove against Konoha, sending him toppling off Komi’s shoulders and into the water. His victory cheer was cut short when he heard two guys talking as they walked by.

“Ugh, what I wouldn’t give to have a girl like that!” one told his friend who nodded solemnly. “Think her boyfriend was one of the ones close by?” “Possibly, maybe that’s why she said no so quickly. When they leave we could try again with her?” “Good idea!” the friend grinned before sighing wistfully. “Until then I have the memory of seeing her in her black bikini up close.”

Bokuto sprang into action faster than the others anticipated; sprinting up the beach he stopped beside your chair and in one effortless movement he scooped you and the towel you were lying on into his arms. You squealed in surprise and opened your eyes to see Bokuto lie down on the chair and settle you and the towel over him.

Both of you settled into a comfy position, your head tucked under his chin while he had one arm around you, his hand resting on your thigh while you absently played with the fingers of his other. “You win baby?” you asked with a content hum. A grin spread on your lips when his pressed against your head. “Damn right I did.”

Semi

The beach had been your idea and Semi jumped at the chance. He couldn’t wait to have you to himself for once. He’d only recently noticed that his team would always be around you both. Yes, they couldn’t help that you liked to watch their practices but outside of that and school? Some of them were there hanging out too. One person in particular that was always there was Ushijima.

Normally he wouldn’t mind as he never saw Ushijima as a threat against his already established relationship but it wasn’t until Tendou pointed out how you and the ace interacted that he finally saw it.

Honestly how had he not seen the glaringly obvious sooner? You were the only one that Ushijima smiled at. You were a naturally affectionate person to begin with but Ushijima would reciprocate your affection when it went his way. You both even had some sort of inside jokes that he and no one else got. Seriously to an outsider it would look like you and Ushijima were the couple. Deep down Semi felt that made more sense. You and the ace of the academy were ten’s, he on the other hand felt like a six on a good day.  

“Hey sweetie guess what?” you grinned snapping him out of his thoughts as he got out of the car to see you looking at your phone. “Toshi and the rest of the team found out we were heading here today and want to join in on the fun!” “They’re crashing another date?” Semi asked a little too harshly making your smile fall slightly. He took a long deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t your fault. You hadn’t invited them but he would bet money that when they asked if they could come you said yes without any hesitation. Rubbing the back of his neck he muttered a sharp ‘whatever’ and stepped onto the sand.

By the time the team arrived and found you both they could feel the tension. When asked what was wrong you could only shrug while Semi insisted that everything was fine. You scowled at that, knowing it was a blatant lie but said nothing. When it had been just the two of you, you’d tried to get Semi to open up to you and tell you what was bothering him but he refused to the point he lost his temper and shouted at you. You blinked suddenly when Ushijima stood in front of you, eyeing you seriously. “Want to go swim? I’m surprised you haven’t gone near the water yet since you love it so much.”

You failed to notice Semi’s clenched fist at the invitation and display that once again Ushijima knew something about you that he didn’t. With a smile and nod you stood and undid the tie of your dress, letting it hit the sand as you stood out of it revealing to everyone the deep purple bikini with black straps. Semi’s face burned and his eyes widened at the sight and watched as you headed to the water with Ushijima by your side, everyone watching you go as you passed by. “Now do you want to talk about it?” Tendou sang innocently at him.

It wasn’t long before he heard your laughter and his sharp brown eyes finally took in the scene with a hardened glare. Ushijima was holding you in the air, his hands shamelessly on your waist before he lifted you into the air and let you cannonball into the water. When you broke through the surface of the water with a grin he could hear you chanting ‘higher Toshi!’ It pained and angered him to see you so joyful and carefree because of someone else. Why couldn’t you see what was bothering him so badly? Oh right because you weren’t a mind reader.

Just as he stood to go and talk to you rationally he saw Ushijima move his hands from your waist to your thighs to lift you out of the water and place you to stand on his shoulder. Jealousy spiking and patience snapping Semi growled and charged down to water. “Wakatoshi!” he called out tightly when you broke through the water’s surface. Your smile fell and you looked at your boyfriend warily. Ushijima stared at his friend. “Tendou wants you.” was all he said. Not questioning the statement, Ushijima nodded and left the water.

When he was gone Semi looked at you still tense and riled up. “Why am I not good enough for you?” he asked and you had to check your ears for any water in case you’d misheard him. “Ita what is wrong with you?” you demanded stepping out of the water to stand in front of him, arms crossed against your soaked chest. “What’s made you think you’re not good enough? Why are you being so pissy about our friends hanging out? They’ve been this way since we got together and that was months ago. Why is it suddenly bugging you that they have no sense of personal space?” “You definitely don’t mind ‘Toshi’ and his lack of personal space…” you blinked at your boyfriend’s accusation and you couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t.” he whispered, the last thing he wanted was to be laughed at for feeling lesser.

He flinched when you stepped closer, your body against his as you cupped his face to make him look you in the eyes. Semi saw your adoration for him shining and it was only made clearer when you hugged him tightly. “Idiot. I only laughed because Toshi is my cousin.” Semi reeled back and stared at you in bewilderment. “I know Toshi wouldn’t think to say we were related but I thought Tendou had already told you.” Semi was going to kill that red-headed monster but you pressed a kiss against his clenched jaw.

“I only have eyes for you. You know you’re sexy when you’re jealous…” you hummed against his skin, smirking when his hands trailed over your back and down to your hips. “Speaking of sexy…” Semi uttered with a smirk of his own against your lips. “I’m loving the bikini.” With a grin he grabbed you and threw you over his shoulder before wading waist high into the water and throwing you in as you screamed out with laughter.  

Oikawa

“Oi why are the ones who invited us here the last to arrive?” Iwaizumi asked, his eyes narrowing in on Oikawa as he walked towards him. His head tilted curiously when he was his best friend and biggest annoyance in life was approaching the team alone. His posture was relaxed so he doubted she was far behind. Oikawa gave his best friend his usual playful smile as he took one of the free seats.

“The best looking people have to make the best entrances, Iwa.” He stated as if it was the obvious answer before he looked around the group with a smirk. “So who was the first to arrive?” a swift hit to the head with a clenched fist was answer enough. As he began to chat casually with his team he frowned when Kindaichi started to choke on his own words. He stared at his junior as his face turned red and eyes widened. Kunimi followed his friend’s stare and his usually bored expression took on one similar to the stuttering boy.

Slowly the others stopped their own conversations to see what the fuss was about and Iwaizumi cleared his throat while Hanamaki let out a low chuckle, clapping Oikawa on the back. “Well for once you were right. The best looking definitely make the best entrances.” Oikawa barely took in his words as he stared at you approaching, looking like the goddess you were. His eyes roamed over the aqua blue bikini adorning your body, when you were settling into the space on the seat he’d made for you to sit against him he noted the white outline of stars on the fabric.

Noting that the others were still staring at you he pouted and threw his arms around you in a playful display of possession. “Go get your own girls.” He taunted at them while sticking out his tongue at his friends while you laughed at your boyfriend’s antics.

“Nooo keep staring!” you pleaded with the boys while cuddling into Oikawa’s hold. “It’s so rare to see Toru jealous even if he is pretending. Makes a nice change from it being me all the time.” You grinned up at your boyfriend who stared at you blankly. “That’s ridiculous, you shouldn’t feel that way. Don’t you trust me?” he asked trying to lighten the mood and you arched an eyebrow at him. Was he serious? “Of course I trust you.” You said sitting up straighter and moving so his hold around you wasn’t so tight. “Toru think about how many times your fangirls have swarmed you and I’ve had to smile and watch and say nothing. I do that because I trust you. Think about how many waitresses have flirted with you when we’ve been out and I left the table for a second. How many numbers have been slipped to you when they think I was gone long enough. I’ve pretended not to see that or you trying to get rid of the paper before I come back into view because I trust you.”

You started to get upset as you slowly got to your feet. “I bet if you walked ten steps on this beach some girl would come and bat her eyelashes at you. I know it’s going to happen and I know you’ll let them down because we love each other and I trust you completely but don’t you dare imply that my feelings are ridiculous.” Roughly you ran your hand through your hair and looked at the rest of the group who looked awkward and stared at anywhere that wasn’t you or a gobsmacked Oikawa. “Sorry for ruining the mood guys. I’m going to get some ice cream.” You mumbled before walking away.

Before he could wallow his chair was roughly kicked out from under him. Wincing he glared at Iwaizumi who glared back at him ferociously. “IDIOT! GO AFTER HER!” He shouted hauling his clueless best friend to his feet. “She’s better looking than you at the best of time. Every guy on this beach will have been eyeing her up since she arrived.” “Add in that bikini…” Hanamaki added with pursed lips. “And the fact that she’s upset and alone…” Matsukawa dealt the finishing blow and Oikawa took off after you.

You didn’t get very far before the first group of guys came into your space and Oikawa saw as they all smiled at you and talked gesturing to the small space they’d previously been sitting at. He saw how you shook your head and wiped your eyes. One tried to step closer and put a hand out to you but you swiftly stepped out of his reach and firmly shook your head again before walking away.

Oikawa glared at the group as they continued to watch your retreating figure. Sharply he clicked his tongue and continued after you, closing the distance because of course you were dragged into a conversation by someone. Thankfully it was just one guy this time, definitely less intimidating to you than the group that had practically encircled you. Sadly though this guy had only one thing on his mind and Oikawa could see that from the way he looked at you, trying to be subtle about where his gaze would linger before returning it to your face. He was still a little ways away so couldn’t swoop in and rescue you. All he could do was watch you shaking him off politely before you continued on your way. Through all these interactions you were slowly becoming angrier that you couldn’t just get some ice cream.

Then you stopped when you heard the wailing. Looking down you gasped to see you’d ruined a little boy’s sandcastle. Forgetting everything else you knelt down to apologise and help the boy build a bigger and better castle. By now Oikawa was a few feet away and watched you give the boy a high five when the castle was finished. Even this little snake was after you and Oikawa watched as the boy kissed your cheek with a grin.

Jealousy already boiling in his skin from being unable to save you previously this was the last straw and he appeared scooping you into his arms as he stared in triumph at his confused and much younger opponent. “If you’re looking for a Queen for your castle shorty look somewhere else.” He teased the boy while holding you close against his chest. Immediately you sensed the difference in your boyfriend’s declaration and the way he held you compared to earlier. This wasn’t playful, this time he was deadly seriously. “This one’s taken.” He said as he carried you away and towards the snack stand. “Never thought it’d be a six year old that’d make you jealous…” you said with a small sigh as he set you on your feet but kept a firm hand around your waist as you walked. “Was all the others too.” Oikawa grumbled surprising you. “I’m sorry I was so dismissive of your feelings. Jealousy is the worst.” “You were right though, while it doesn’t go away fully it does help when you know you can trust the other completely to say no...and rescue you when needed.”  

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Satisfied, Part 38

First

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Next

~~~

She woke up with a groan and rubbed her eyes. Someone, probably Chloe, had tucked her into bed. She smiled faintly and sat up.

A glance at her phone found a text from Chloe saying she’d gotten home safely, a text from Jason asking if she was okay (really subtle), and a text from Damian asking if she wanted to talk.

She closed her eyes, letting her phone drop to her side. She didn’t really want to talk about anything, she’d already cried herself out of tears the night before and she didn’t intend on doing that again anytime soon.

She glanced at her work. She kinda needed to get a move on, the Wayne Gala was steadily approaching, but she didn’t really have any motivation to do that. She didn’t feel like being productive at all, actually.

What she wanted, really, was a distraction. She mulled over her options. Most of her hobbies also felt like work, from designing to baking, so… what could she do?

Oh!

She pulled up a chat.

Definitelyforgottosleep: wanna hang out today

She barely had to wait for an answer.

Coffeeismygirlfriend: Sure! I’ll be there soon.

She got up and went to the bathroom to get ready, only to see the dried blood on her floor. She bit her cheek and then walked to the door. She glanced back in it’s direction and smiled when she realized her counter covered it. Good. She could deal with that later, then. She didn’t feel like cleaning.

Marinette smiled as she opened the door an hour later, fully ready.

Tim smiled. “Hey! Ready to do some work?”

She grinned and rushed past him, hooking her arm with his. “Nope!”

He blinked confusedly as he allowed her to drag him along. “Uhhhh this wasn’t expected.”

“I can see that. You work too much anyways.”

Tim groaned. “Not you, too! I thought you understood!”

“Not saying it’s a bad thing, but I don’t want to do work today.”

He looked at her like she was insane.

She grinned and pulled him into an arcade that she’d seen a few times on patrol. “Behold! I’m gonna teach you how to have fun!”

He raised his eyebrows slightly. “I know how to have fun.”

“Mmm,” she said, not agreeing or disagreeing.

They both pulled out their wallets and then eyed each other warily. Marinette crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m the one who wanted to come.”

“I’m the one with more money.”

She rolled her eyes and, however reluctantly, put her money away. He had a point. He probably wouldn’t even register the loss.

He smiled like he’d won something and handed over his credit card. “Uhhhh just as many points as you can give us, I guess?”

The clerk looked exhausted as she nodded, handing over the plastic cards.

And, with that, they were off.

She was better at most of the straight video games. He complained about difficult controls, but she was pretty sure he just wasn’t used to playing on consoles. It made sense, he didn’t really seem the type to play video games in his off time (if he even had any offtime, of course).

Still, he gave her a pout every time he lost. “You’re cheating.”

“Yeah. I’m cheating on this game that I’ve literally never played before in my life. You’ve caught me.”

He huffed. “We’re playing something else.”

Then they moved onto games based on sports. Were they maybe a bit too good at these types of games? A bit too quick? Yes. But neither of them intended on saying anything because oh cool tickets. Still, it became obvious they had different skill sets: Tim had her beat at basketball and Marinette never lost at skeeball. They never learned who was better at air hockey because one of their hits sent the puck flying into someone’s head and they had to run away before they got sued.

Next was games of luck…

She got the lowest possible amount of tickets. Five times in a row.

Marinette kicked the machine and then cursed at the pain. “THIS IS STUPID.”

Tim, however, was trying his hardest not to laugh. “This shouldn’t even be possible.”

“Helpful,” she muttered.

He gave a small shrug as he stepped up to the machine. “Maybe it’s just rigged or something,” he said. She would have been inclined to agree... if he didn’t get a jackpot on his first try.

She huffed at his smug grin. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I could feel you judging me,” she muttered, giving his shoulder a small shove.

He grinned. “I’d never.”

She rolled her eyes. “New type of game!”

After a bit they managed to find some co-op games, and she was delighted to find that the two of them together made for a pretty formidable team. Admittedly, some of the games weren’t technically supposed to be played as co-op, but who was going to stop them from getting as many tickets as possible from this fishing game by working together? Really it was the designer’s fault for not taking that into consideration.

They ran out of credits about every hour, but did they care? Not really. Mostly because Tim never told her when this happened, usually waiting until she was distracted with a game to go recharge their cards. Did Marinette notice the fact that their cards were seemingly never ending or that sometimes they would randomly have a lot more credits? Maybe, but she was enjoying herself enough to avoid the guilt at least temporarily.

Eventually, though, the arcade was coming to a close.

They had bags upon bags of tickets hanging off their arms, but this would become their downfall. Despite being smart enough to find ways to get the most tickets at every game, they apparently weren’t smart enough to think ahead and were now struggling to untangle the tickets.

“How did you even do this, bean?”

She knocked her head against the machine she’d been leaning on. “Less talking, more untangling,” she muttered irritably, struggling with a ticket that somehow had gotten a knot in it.

They ignored the workers’ glares as they finally managed to hand over the little slip with their ticket count on it. Despite how much they’d gotten, they were forced to go to the cheapest section.

She pouted. “Man, we were cheated.”

“We could just buy the stuff, it’s a lot cheaper that way.”

She turned her gaze on him, an incredulous look on her face. “Of course not! Where’s the fun in that?”

“You would actually get what you wanted…?”

She huffed. “Boring.”

“You just said you felt cheated.”

“That’s part of the experience, Timothy.”

He rolled his eyes and they split off in search of what they could afford. Her eyes landed on the vigilante merch and a smile came to her face as she got a plan. She quickly rang herself up and headed to the bathroom to change.

She grinned at him as she stepped out in a Red Robin themed hoodie, clutching a plush version of the vigilante to her chest. 

Because what’s the point of knowing your friends’ secret identities if you can’t mess with them?

He blushed, his grip tightening on the bag of prizes in his hand.

Marinette tried not to laugh as she looped her arm with his again, pulling him out into the streets. She really didn’t know where they were going, but she didn’t want to just leave when he was looking so flustered. What a wasted opportunity!

“So, Red Robin fan?” He asked after a bit.

She smiled. “Of course! He’s super smart! I mean, I know Batman is supposed to be the greatest detective of all time or whatever but, considering ages and experience, I think that Red Robin is probably going to have him beat in… I don’t know, a few years?”

Poor Tim looked like he was about to pass out, his face was so red.

She smiled and sat down with him on a park bench. People were thinning around them as night approached, but she didn’t care. What was going to happen? They get attacked? That would only really be a bad time for the criminal.

“But I’ve actually met the guy a few times. He’s really nice and genuinely cares about his job from what I’ve seen. Don’t think there’s anything bad to say about him, honestly.”

He grinned, resting an arm around her shoulders.

“He’s alright, I guess.” An odd light sparkled in his eyes and he reached into his bag. He shuffled through his things for a bit and then held up a mug…

There was a picture of Ladybug on it.

“I think she’s cooler, though.”

Marinette fought the urge to bury her face in his shoulder as a blush came to her face. Ah. So this has backfired on her, apparently. All she could manage was a quiet: “Oh?”

“Yep! I think it’s really cool that she came over from Paris, because she really didn’t have to do that. No one would have said anything if she’d disappeared when Hawkmoth was defeated, but instead she decided to help Gotham!”

They were alone, now. This was great, because she didn’t need anyone else seeing her looking like a tomato. She fiddled with the Red Robin plushie in her lap for an excuse to look away.

A hand rested on her cheek and she looked up to see him. He was still a little flushed from her own compliments, but now there was a small grin playing at his lips. “Everything alright, bean? You look a little bit flushed, are you coming down with something?”

She opened her mouth to give an excuse before something struck her. Tim wasn’t stupid, she hadn’t been lying when she had said so. He couldn’t genuinely be wondering if she was sick, the smug look on his face made that obvious. So the only reason he’d be acting like this was if he was teasing her, which meant…

“You know?”

His eyes widened slightly and then flicked to the side. His hand lowered. “And I’m guessing you do, too?”

She nodded almost imperceptibly, closing her eyes. “What gave me away?”

“I was kinda suspicious during the food fight, you were a bit too good at it for a normal civvie, but I really figured it out because of the fox necklace. The one time she wears it is the one time I’ve seen you ever have it? It was just too much of a coincidence.”

She swore in French. She’d forgotten about that! She was going to start wearing the fox miraculous casually to alleviate suspicion, but Red Robin hadn’t come by much after that and she hadn’t been completely sure it was Tim.

“And how’d you figure me out?”

She hesitated. “It was obvious, honestly.”

“Damian?”

She blinked. “What? How’d you know?”

“You wouldn’t lie to protect anyone else.”

Fair enough. “Damian and I sparred, I recognized his fight style.”

He nodded and pulled her into his side a bit more.

She leaned into his touch a little bit, slinging an arm over his stomach lazily. “What do you think I should do?” She mumbled.

He didn’t bother to ask what she was talking about. “Honestly? I don’t like you going out into the field again. You’re not well…”

“But?”

“But the Rogues are unstable and I don’t like the idea of trying to fight them all off without any knowledge of what they were going to do.”

She nodded slightly. That made sense. “That’s about what I figured, too.”

“I don’t like you going out into the field again. You’re not well,” he repeated, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “The rest of them are probably going to be even more against the idea than me.”

“I’ll convince them.”

“Can you?”

Her head shot up to look at him and she bit at the inside of her cheek. He had a point, unfortunately. Jason was going to be against it, Bruce would probably be cautious of her because of his whole anti-murder thing, Dick would probably lean towards not letting her out again as well. She thought she might be able to convince Damian, but then again he was the only one who knew the full extent of what had happened over the past week.

She sighed and leaned into him again, closing her eyes. She buried her face in his shoulder. “Can you help?”

“Maybe,” he said softly, and she knew immediately that whatever he was going to say she wasn’t going to like it. “If you go to therapy regularly they’d probably be more okay with it.”

She cringed. There was that suggestion again: therapy. It was almost like she needed it or something. Still, she felt her normal excuse fall off her tongue: “What, am I supposed to tell them who I am?”

“Yep.”

She frowned.

“All of us have a regular therapist who sees us in costume and we talk about the job.”

“Will she tell Bruce everything I say?”

“Nope! She only has to tell him if we’re going to hurt ourselves or others.” He gave a short chuckle. “More than necessary, I mean.”

Marinette sighed. “But…”

Man, she was really running out of excuses now.

“It’s really the only way they’ll agree, bean.”

He was right, she just didn’t like it. She didn’t agree out loud, that would only make it feel more real. Instead, she curled into his side.

“We should probably head back to my apartment at some point. It’s going to get cold soon.”

“Yeah, probably,” he agreed quietly.

They didn’t move from where they were for a long time, content to lean into each other for warmth.

And, when they woke up the next morning, they decided to pretend they didn’t notice the giant sign over their necks that declared them under Rogue protection.

~~~

Taglist

@comet-kun @thatonecroc @trippingovermyfeet @swiftie-miraculer13 @nickristus-dreamer @moongoddesskiana @i-am-ironic @indecisive-mess-named-me @thebooki3h @insane-fangirl-of-everything @deepestobservationwombat @theymakeupfairies @fatimaabbasrizvi @clumsy-owl-4178 @fanofalittletoomuch @iamablinkmarvelarmy @nathleigh @lilkymilky @silvergold-swirl @dino-lovingreen-angel @thestressmademedoit @kissa-chan @ladybug-182 @alysrose-starchild @t1dwarrior-of-earth @spyofthenightcourt @rowanrouge @nik-nak-3 @momothefemur @aestheticnpoetic @labschaos @our-preciousss @mochinek0 @eliza-bich @mythogaychic @severelyenchantedwonderland @sashakoi @smolplantmum @bluesimani @tropestropestropes @kitsunebell @keepingupwiththemalfoys @sassakitty @2confused-2doanything @too0bsessedformyowngood @all-mights-asscheeks @demonicbusiness @meg-an-ace @fantasiame @qualitypeacepainter @multplelifes @kokotaru

<3

[shinjaeha]

itsay ep 3 (thoughts + spoilers)

itsay ep 3 fucking obliterated me so here i am with some more thoughts on this episode (drama) in general. this is just me being an incoherent mess bc my mind is basically just one long !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! after having watched this (once raw and again subbed). this isn’t an analysis, it’s literally me just gushing over the ep as i watch it bc boy oh BOY.

WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT EVERYTHING HITTING DIFFERENT AFTER THE BOAT SCENE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if i thought the tension in the boat knocked the breath out of me, this whole ep was that x10000.

they really started us off with a bang having continued straight off from last ep with teh smelling oh-aew’s hair, huh?? teh rubbing his face with the coconut paralleled with oh-aew smelling his coconut scented shampoo?? excuse me as i cry into my hands.

teh wasn’t willing to wake up early for tarn when she wanted to draw early in the morning, but when he sees that oh-aew wants to wake up early to study, HE’S the one that makes sure that oh-aew wakes up (and he stays up to keep oh-aew company, even if it’s just over the phone). then again when they’re at the resort...love that tarn realises that too. boy ain’t subtle. also, how is it even possible that they can have that much tension just speaking over the phone?? they’re not even in the same room and the tension between the two of them is so thick i can barely breathe.

the “let me know when you’re home”!!!!!!!!!!!!! BOYFRIEND BEHAVIOUR. as soon as oh-aew asked teh why he always asked tarn that, i KNEW they were gonna put that in there for him and oh-aew and i’m glad i wasn’t disappointed :))) the look on oh-aew’s face when he saw the text!!!!!!!!!!! the way he stopped in his tracks!!!!!!!!!

i already had a feeling that oh-aew was going to be the first one to properly realise and accept his feelings for teh based on the teasers (makes sense since he already knows he likes boys...he’s more sure of his sexuality, which would of course make it easier for him to accept based on that). seeing the way he used the ‘if you get close to him and he doesn’t move away it means he likes you’ theory that teh initially told him to try on bas with teh too was really cute. and the jealousy over tarn. i LOVED that we got to see a more petty side to him when he announced he was going to room with bas partly bc of how lowkey jealous/mad he was about teh and tarn talking over the phone. it left teh so unsettled and confused (the piano music was PERFECT in that scene), and is 510% something teh would have done too (based on the previous two eps). they really are a perfect match huh. but poor bas being caught in the middle of the two of them ;;;

i liked that a lot of this ep was from oh-aew’s perspective. i feel like we got mostly teh’s pov in the first two eps, so it was really nice to see things from oh-aew’s pov too. gave us all more insight into his personality and he’s honestly SO MUCH more flirty than i thought he was going to be omg. the potato chip scene where he just crawled over to teh and ate that potato chip all the while staring straight at teh, then lying on his lap?????????? teh was (understandably) flustered after that AND SO WAS I. i was not expecting that whatsoever. i was also really impressed with how honest oh-aew was about his feelings. i love that he’s stayed true to their previous heart to heart in the boat scene last ep where he basically told teh that he wanted transparency between the two of them. he’s sticking to that, and i admire him so much for being able to be that vulnerable and true to himself. i thought there might have been more confusion with bas, but it looks like as soon as he realised his feelings might have faded/that he was feeling things for teh now, he just went with it. i know in my last text post i said that oh-aew is usually the more cautious/pragmatic of the two, but i feel like when it comes to his feelings, he seems to be really in tune with who and what he wants (more so than teh). this of course makes sense bc he’s likely had more time to come to terms with his sexuality...which is what teh’s figuring out for himself now. on top of that, oh-aew’s feelings for teh are a lot stronger than the ones he has for bas. and since he’s also more certain that teh likes him back, he’s so much bolder in how he approaches teh. and teh, to his credit, returns that honesty too when oh-aew basically pushes him into acknowledging that there’s ~something between them (hammock scene). i was kind of expecting him to push away from that/deny it, but he didn’t. he’s obviously just a lot more confused with his feelings and still needs some time to understand them and process them fully. on a related note, hammock scene was so loaded and SO well acted by the both of them. the fact that they can move from playful in one scene too achingly intense in another always throws me for a loop.

another thing i really love about the two of them is how they push one another to be better. it’s that rivalry that makes their bond even stronger, but it’s also something that worries me for future eps ngl...

but i honestly feel SO BAD for bas...clearly, he likes oh-aew, and although oh-aew was initially confused with the two of them, he’s definitely more convinced when it comes to his feelings for teh. but when bas essentially asked oh-aew out, and oh-aew said let’s invite the rest of they guys?? he looked so sad and my heart kind of broke a little. it’s like watching the poor second lead in a kdrama. and tarn too :( i really hope that when teh accepts his feelings for oh-aew, he doesn’t keep her hanging on the way that most BLs tend to do. she deserves so much better than that. my heart really hurts for the both of them, but at the same time teh and oh-aew are just magnets being pulled together at this point. they can’t stay away from each other.

the scene where teh rubs the smell of oh-aew’s coconut scented pen (from what he’s written) all over his face bc he’s at his limit and can’t stand all those pent up feelings anymore, only to race out to their special meeting place on the beach????? the moment he sees that oh-aew’s there too and he chases after him entranced (and the smile on oh-aew’s face)????? the way the instrumental ost just swells the moment they see each other????? the way they tease and dance around another yet again?????  PURE ART. A CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE. THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DRAMA I HAVE EVER SEEN. this whole sequence has to be my fave scene in this ep. god, that part where the camera closes in on them and they’re face to face before oh-aew steps away again had my heart trying to flutter its way out of my CHEST. THEY HAVEN’T EVEN KISSED IN THE SERIES YET AND THEY CAN REDUCE ME TO THIS. honestly, their power is something else. the fact that they can stir so many emotions in all of us just by the way they glance at one another, by the way they dart around one another barely touching...there are dramas/movies with multiple kiss/love scenes that can’t even create that tension and longing. it’s the kind of chemistry that burns you inside out. it’s so palpable.

the thigh massage scene had me CAPTIVATED (like all their scenes tbh) and then teh’s mum came to wake me (and the both of them) up haha. but for real, there’s just something so tentative about what’s happening. these feelings are new to them, and they’re easing their way into it. always toeing the line, but not overstepping it yet. it’s primal. they keep letting those feelings build up more and more and more. and you can always feel the way it’s leading to something else. and of course it leads into the next scene where teh’s tutoring oh-aew again but the atmosphere is so incredibly heavy, so tight, that they can’t contain it anymore (i mean, the fact that they contained it for so long when they’re teenage boys with feelings for one another is already astounding enough to me). teh tries so hard, but then the back scratch happens and...THIS ICONIC SCENE...i thought they were going to kiss then (before oh-aew turned around), but then we got something else entirely and the intimacy of it all. just wow. literally not a single kiss and it was one of the most sensual scenes i have ever seen in a BL. it’s just the way they get so caught up in one another. THE YEARNING OF IT ALL. this whole ep was just pure anticipation, and i have never ever wanted two characters to kiss more than i do these two. it’s the build up that gets me (idk if this can be considered slow build since there’s only been like three eps but it sure as hell feels like it!!!!!!!!!). then teh pulls away and it’s like a smack in the gut...but at the same time, i get it. he’s not ready yet. there’s so much for him to take in and he’s not there yet (not the way oh-aew is), and just like oh-aew, it keeps us all hanging on, so close but not quite there yet.

so much of this felt like this cat and mouse game between the both of them where one of them would advance, then retract...it makes the tension between the two of them even MORE overwhelming bc you keep anticipating something, and you get fleeting moments of it, but then it’s over by the time you blink. they keep toying with one another, but not crossing the line YET bc they know that that’ll change everything the moment they do. it’s such a testament to the writing AND the acting bc it’s the chemistry that bkpp have with one another that creates all of that push and pull dynamic, that yearning and desire. having to wait a whole week again is just devastating...i think next ep seems like it might be the climax?? i’m pretty sure it’ll be the ep where teh accepts his feelings (or at least won’t be able to hold himself back physically anymore), where all the build up finally properly erupts, but at the same time, i just know that the angst is going to start piling up and idk how to feel other than terrified bc i’m way too invested now tbh.

anyway, this drama is absolutely magnificent, and all i want to do is rave about how damn good it is. so high quality. it feels so fresh, like they’re reinvented the tried and true coming of age tale in a way, and we’re all just along for the ride. it transcends the typical thai BL story (and i now understand why they were hesitant to label this as BL when it really feels like it encompasses so much more than the usual BL tropes and story). one of my fave dramas of the year by far (BL or otherwise). it’s just a class apart from any drama i’ve watched before and ticks every single box for me. stunning in every way. down to every detail and every feeling and emotion. it’s so raw and real and i can’t praise what nadao and the team have done with this enough (and we still have 2 more eps to go!!). there’s just so much meaning in every little thing, and in all those little things you can see the time and care it’s taken them to make this.

[earthenterran]

higusotsu post ep 7&8

So. My belief was proven wrong. We’re shown in these episodes (which I’m sort of treating as one episode bc I watched together and idk where it started and stopped bear with me) that Satoko is pulling the strings very particularly. 

So my thoughts were wrong, and I’m dealing. Trying not to be like, too affronted because I thought the direction I assumed we were going was pretty good, but yknow. Fuck that I guess.

SO. What did I like? Because I did like things in these episodes. And also things I don’t like. Let’s start with the good:

I liked the opening conversation between Rika and Satoko. And I know I don’t touch about it enough because I do write mostly about Satoko’s whole thing but fuck, I hate seeing Rika in this situation. She’s done this before, she’s tired, she’s done. She doesn’t deserve this torture. And every time she expresses that my heart aches. She’s just a kid. She’s been just a kid for so long. Now, she’s gotten a few more new and real years only to be snatched away and put back in this cycle. It really fucking sucks. They all deserve peace and happiness and this goes so much more so for her.

I like Eua’s conversation with Satoko. There’s Eua saying something to Satoko that we get to see unnerve her. This whole time Satoko’s goal is Rika and keeping her around, but also remember all the times i’ve been saying like... Eua is the god that gave Satoko these powers and the freedom of consequence that comes with it. Now, here, we get one potential downside Satoko has to avoid. (Also weird how Eua went from ‘you’re definitely get you’re happy ending’ to ‘if you do x wrong you’ll literally lose so there’s actually no guarantees but i’m focusing on The POSITIVEs so hold on to that)

I liked the bit with Eua talking about Satoko being a witch now and revealing (its very show and tell but whatever its information ) that she is finding happiness in the deceit and manipulation and has to keep doing it. This tells us as an audience where she’s at right now. I really wish we got to see a more subtle descent for this but fuck! Wait. positivity portion.

Anyway I do like knowing where Satoko is said to be at mentally. We’ve been told that looping changes you. We know how Rika used to be, and even with anime-only OVA some light explanation that there was a witch Rika was that she had to let go of (saying this as a person who’s reading the VNs but still only has that anime info only since I haven’t gotten that far in the og source material). Basically we have previous information to connect this with, and we can move forward with the story figuring out... how to approach Satoko as a witch, and how will she respond (I mean we know... a gun, but yknow we’re not back there yet so....eeeeeh)

So. Things I Did Not Like or... yeah.

Keiichi’s just... dropped stuff. Like in the deceiving version of this arc Satoko has a connection with him. Which sure she’s pretending but this would’ve been a Wonderful chance to showcase her thoughts on someone who isn’t Rika, how she views the rest of her friends. How she views Keiichi, who she’s sometimes looked to as an older brother but also now as a looper has seen the dark sides of him. Mix that in with her like, viewing him as pawn as her rationale. Like how different is her view on him compared to Teppei? There’s gotta be a line right? Or show me how she’s blurred so much so to these faces that she can’t connect to permanently not matter who they are, if they aren’t the Rika she’s chasing after.

Eua’s line about how Satoko can’t withdraw now since she’s cast the die. Okay. If you’ve seen my other posts... whew man this got me steamed. I’m never going to get over the fact that EUA put Satoko in this position. Did not ask for this, and Satoko tried to run but was sent back to looping anyway and just kind of... scrambled from there. Like... fuck you. Hello??? I do recognize that Satoko is far away from who she used to be then but it... it all started there. Because Eua put her in this position, freedom and power and encouragement and HOW the fuck else was Satoko meant to end up? Who was Satoko supposed to become but a witch in search of happiness through the powers her god gave her?

I... I think that’s my big thoughts at the moment. I liked not seeing that shit Irie. I liked seeing the scene where Mion is told about the Teppei situation. I enjoyed the small bit of Satoko as a witch rolling on the ground. It read as kind of silly and while I’m like sort of humming about what’s the point of this story that was a nice break of just like ‘this is her headspace right now and see how she enjoys it’.

[mmxficlets]

Prompt #9: “Early Development”

This chapter was requested by Lunarii!! (If anyone knows their @, please tag them or let me know, I would love to tag them in this ;w;) This one focuses around Zero’s development into a person, and its more of a character study, still XZero though, no worries :3

Zero’s stay at Cain Labs was...eventful, to say the least. X hardly had time to think some days, let alone get his usual work done. Sigma had stopped by a few days after the former maverick had been reactivated.

It had nearly been a damn firefight to get the large reploid to not attack the warbot, said warbot sitting in X’s lab, enraptured in Dr. Cain’s ramblings about archeology. X and Sigma had argued fiercely about the subject, Sigma insisting that Zero should have remained deactivated, while X argued that everyone deserves a second chance.

Dr. Cain had stepped out of the room to see a furious Maverick Hunter Commander stalking towards the exit, his hands in fists, and X with his hands against the wall, panting as he fought to control his anger.

Sigma hadn’t returned after that, opting instead to send emails to X about Zero’s progress. 

X was honestly fine with that, it gave him more time to focus on his new friend, and the android desperately needed the attention. Not only was he not a reploid, but his inner workings dated back to around the same time X was made!

The Blue Bomber had never been more excited, knowing he had someone who was around the same age as him! 

He quickly realized though that while he had had a very solid grasp on social norms, emotional control and other human quirks, Zero did not. It felt like nothing about Zero was programmed for interacting with other people, only for combat.

His combat specs were as high as X’s, and it was obvious that whoever had programmed him had wanted him to become even stronger, with Zero’s ability to learn greater than most, if not all, reploid technology of the age. The warbot however, had no interest in learning war tactics, instead wanting to talk to and learn from X.

Zero had quickly become attached to the smaller bot, and once he was cleared to leave the small lab he had been living in, he had stuck to his android friend’s hip, one never being seen without the other. This was usually not a problem for either of them, X enjoyed having a companion to keep him company throughout his day, and Zero seemed to want to drink in everything X had to offer.

The first “incident” involving both of them was more the humans fault than Zero’s. 

X had been having a rather heated discussion with one of Dr. Cain’s colleagues, a man from another robotics lab. He had insisted that he spoke to X without Dr. Cain there, trying to convince the Light-bot to sign over some of the patents on reploid templates, and even allow other robotics companies to look at X’s own body.

This was a very big no-no to reploids, and especially X. So when he had refused, and attempted to leave, the man had jumped up and reached for the Light-bot. He had obviously not expected Zero to appear in front of him as quickly as he did. His shriek at the near snarling warbot threw both androids for quite the loop. 

The man left swiftly after that, and a rather pleased Dr. Cain had called X shortly after, explaining that the man was no longer one of his associates. 

X still had to have a stern talking to with his friend about openly threatening humans, and while Zero did look at least a little guilty, he hadn’t apologized for it. X had counted it as close to a win as he could and moved on.

After that, anyone who got too close to X was met with Zero stepping either in their line of sight, or placing his own body in front of X’s. It got a few chuckles at first, comments about how Zero was like a puppy, and X had swooned at the comparison.

It quickly grew to be a problem however, and X had had to put a stop to the behavior when Zero had bared his teeth to Dr. Cain. 

The teasing from his father figure alone had been reason enough to explain to the android why this behavior wasn’t acceptable.

As time went on, and Zero matured as a person, he became better about navigating the subtle nuances of interacting with people. His personality really began to blossom, and X was ecstatic to watch it happen.

Zero liked cats, a trait discovered after they had taken a trip around Cain Labs and found a stray cat. He had sat there calling and tittering for the tiny creature after X had shown him how. Soon the cat had worked up the courage to approach, and had subsequently spent over an hour with both androids. (X really enjoyed that memory, and the cat had become a resident in the labs, aptly named Aasimov.)

Zero wasn’t very big on wearing clothes, preferring to keep his armor on. The first time X had convinced him to remove the armor and just enjoy being without it, he had been met with embarrassed looks from the lab techs that had been present for the conversation. X turned around and panicked, throwing his own lab coat over Zero’s now naked body.

He hastily explained that while they were not technically showing anything improper, public nudity was frowned upon in human society. Zero hadn’t understood at first, but accepted when X convinced him to wear civilian clothes. The Blue Bomber used his personal allowance to buy Zero his own clothes. After a nice shopping trip, the warbot having chosen most of his wardrobe, they both had nice sets of clothes to wear, with Zero’s being mostly hoodies and t-shirts, and one very bright red jacket.

Zero’s taste in music was...strange. If you had asked any of the lab assistants what music a former maverick would enjoy, they would say something like rock and roll, or heavy metal. Ask X that question however, and he would answer with a sigh and shrug, saying simply, “He’s really into the blues.” The only theory that people could come up with was that the warbots best friend’s armor was blue, and somehow that had made a connection to the android.

X didn’t have an answer either.

Zero’s taste in food was also strange. Finding out that the warbot had functioning tastebuds was a wonderful surprise, and X had insisted on finding his favorite food. Trial and error was the best way to determine this, and The Blue Bomber was nothing if not determined.

The warbot had turned his nose up at any kind of fish, citing that the smell bothered him. Chicken and red meats were okay though. Onions were a big no, Zero claiming that it drowned the taste of everything around it. His favorite vegetable ended up being broccoli. The warbot particularly liked things that were sweet, and things that were spicy. How those two things correlated with one another, again, X didn’t have an answer.

In the end, Zero had promptly decided that spaghetti was his favorite meal. X enjoyed cooking that at least once a week, much to both Dr. Cain and Zero’s delight.

The most interesting thing to develop about Zero to X was his way of interacting with people. At first, he had seemed like a toddler in a body much too big for himself. Always curious, stepping over everyone’s boundaries and being brutally honest. As he spent more time around X and other humans though, that changed.

He grew a bit more withdrawn, refraining from speaking when he didn’t really have to. Once you got his attention however, he was more than happy to talk. This helped a lot when X himself didn’t feel like speaking. Zero also seemingly became more aloof, or “cool”, when the lab techs were asked. He had a natural suaveness about him, and once he had learned how to hold a conversation properly, his charm and confidence had truly blossomed. 

After a few months, Zero was a completely different person, his ability to learn helping him become a functioning member in X’s life. He had become a joy to be around, able to hold his own in conversation, adding his own input and spin on things. He sparred weekly with X in one of the labs testing halls, and had his own talks of morality and ethics with Dr. Cain.

It was wonderful, and X found he genuinely enjoyed spending his days with his friends.

It broke X’s heart when Sigma and the Maverick Hunters appeared to take Zero away. 

The warbot’s probation period was up, and Sigma would assess whether the former maverick was to be put down, or assigned to the hunters. Zero had met the Hunters without flinching, his time spent with X helping him immensely when asked to prove his sanity.

He passed with flying colors, and Zero was hired on the spot. When it came time to say goodbye, X hugged the warbot, trying not to cry as his best friend was taken away.

Zero had smiled and promised to visit before being escorted out by a reploid in purple armor, Sigma congratulating X on his ability to reform such a troublesome maverick. 

A few months later, X had joined the maverick hunters too, desperate to be around his friend and further his research. Both androids combat synergy shot them to the higher ranks, Zero being higher than X, but only just by seniority alone.

And as time went on, the two oldest androids on the planet grew even closer as friends, their dream-like time in Cain Labs a fond memory for X and Zero. 

It all shattered when Sigma declared war on humanity, and the first flames of war grew on the horizon.

[quickspinner]

MLHolidays2k19 4. Ornaments

Form the Miraculous Holiday Prompts here.

Lukanette, you know, because, me. Lukanette for life.

Anarka didn’t even blink when Marinette popped up on the gangplank. “Here to see Luka? He’s below,” Anarka said, jerking a thumb toward the door. “Go on down.” 

Marinette did, blushing a bit. She’d been dating Luka for a while now, but it still embarrassed her to be called out on it so brazenly. 

She found the downstairs had been rearranged a bit, which wasn’t the least bit uncommon for the chaotic family. There was no room for a real  tree, but the Couffaines has used garlands and lights in zigzags to make a picture of a tree on the wall. One of the smaller couches had been moved to face it, and Luka was sitting there. The only light came from the “tree” and a lamp on the table at Luka’s elbow.

As usual he sensed her approach before she could speak and turned to greet her. Marinette felt a shiver as soon as his eyes locked on her. He was feeling emotional tonight, she could tell, and he looked at her with such warmth and affection that her knees went weak. 

He raised one hand and beckoned her to join him, catching her hand as soon as she got close to pull her in. As soon as she was seated he put his arm around her and pressed his nose to her temple.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he murmured. “I’m really glad you’re here.” 

Marinette smiled, and let him pull her snug against his side and take her hand with his free one to hold in their laps. “I like your tree,” she said. “Creative approach.”

“Never let it be said the Couffaines are traditional,” he chuckled. “We just finished decorating it about an hour ago. It always gets to me a little bit, but...more than usual this year.”

“Why?” Marinette asked, moving her inside arm up to his shoulders to toy with his hair. He closed his eyes and hummed contentedly. 

“You see the ornaments?” 

Marinette looked back at the tree, noting the eclectic collection of small ornaments hanging from the garlands, swaying slowly with the gentle rocking on the boat.

“They all have a story,” he told her. “We pick them up on our trips. They’re almost all handmade. You can see some Juleka and I made when we were little, even.” He pointed to an eye of God made of popsicle sticks and yarn dangling from a lower corner. “It’s a great time to remember all the places we’ve been, and all the things that we’ve done together. It’s just...nice. We don’t get to do as many things together as a family as we used to, and...I don’t know, I guess it hit me kind of hard that things will be changing soon. In the next year or so I’ll have to make some kind of decision about what I want to do with my life, and no matter what I decide, everything’s going to change...and it’ll only be a couple more years before Juleka will too. And who knows what Maman will do once we’re out of her hair. We might not be together like this as a family for much longer and that...it scares me, honestly.”

“Slow down,” Marinette said, letting go of his hand to touch his cheek and turn his face towards her. “Isn’t that what you’re always telling me? You still have now.”

“I do,” he agreed, and shifted on the couch to face her a little more. “I have now, and if you’re here I have better things to do than wax nostalgic about the past and stress about the future. Thanks for the reminder.”

“You’re—“ she began but he was kissing her before she finished, in his slow, deliberate, gentle way. She loved his quiet passion, the way he always seemed to take his time about it, how special he always made her feel when he looked at her afterwards with that tender expression in his eyes. 

As much as she enjoyed it, she pulled back after just a few moments—to his disappointment, if his subtle pout was any indication.

“I have something for you,” she told him.

Luka laughed softly, “Isn’t it a bit early for that?” he teased. “It’s still almost a month until Christmas.”

“It’s just a little something,” she shrugged.

“Isn’t it always?” he said, clearly fighting a grin. She’d been showering him with little gifts since they started dating, and he liked to tease her about it.

“Maybe I won’t give it to you after all,” she huffed, holding up a small flat package.

“Ah, Marinette,” Luka said, nuzzling her neck. “Don’t be like that.” He reached for the package while she hummed contentedly, but she moved it out of reach. Luka pressed his lips to her neck in a spot where he knew she was ticklish. Marinette gasped and scrunched up her shoulder, drawing her arms in reflexively, and Luka’s quick fingers snagged it out of her hand. “I win,” he smiled against her skin.

He should know better than to poke her competitive streak. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know exactly how to get to him. “You sure?” Marinette teased, turning her face towards him so they were nose to nose, and his breath caught. 

“Definitely,” Luka said, dropping the package in his lap and cupping her cheek. She turned her face just in time for him to miss her lips. “Marinette,” he whined, and she giggled. 

“Marinette,” he said again, this time in his deep, breathy voice, the one that made her name sound like a caress, and the second she turned back to him, his lips were against hers again, gently coaxing, begging her to give in and make out with him. Really, this was positively aggressive for him, and she couldn’t pretend she didn’t like it, but she wasn’t about to let this go so easily. 

She pretended to surrender, putting one hand on his knee for a moment, and then she snatched the little package back and pulled away to wave it at him. 

“Yeah,” Luka said breathlessly, grinning with reddened lips, “I think I still won.” 

Marinette nudged her nose against his. “Only because I let you.” 

“Yeah,” Luka sighed, smiling. He moved just enough to kiss her softly. “Thanks for catering to my fragile male ego.” Marinette couldn’t help giggling, the statement was so ridiculous.

“Do you want to see what I made you or not?”

“I don’t know.” Luka slid his fingers around the back of her neck and caressed her jaw with his thumb. “I’m doing pretty well right here. It can’t be better than this.” 

“Maybe I shouldn’t give it to you. You’re already such a sap and this might only make it worse.”

“Guilty,” Luka sighed, sitting back a little, seemingly accepting that he wasn’t going to get anywhere until he did what she wanted. “If I open it, can I kiss you some more after?” 

Yes please. “You’ll even have the perfect excuse,” she pointed out.

“Like I need a reason,” he sighed, leaning his elbow on the back of the couch. He blinked at her with eyes that seemed an even deeper blue than usual. 

Marinette was suddenly overcome with fear, that he wouldn’t like it or that it was overstepping. She glanced nervously at the garland tree. She hadn’t realized that it meant so much to him.

Luka saw the shift in her mood and plucked the little package gently out of her fingers. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I haven’t been very gracious. You know I love the things you make me, even when I tease you.”

She fiddled with her fingers in her lap. “It’s okay if you don’t. You don’t have to like everything.”

“But they’re always so thoughtful,” he said as he opened the paper at the end of the package. “I do like them, really.” He paused to lean over and kiss her temple. “And I love knowing that you’ve been thinking about me.”

He tipped the package and let the gift slide into his palm. 

It was a rectangle made up of tiny, shiny beads, mostly black, but with white beads in a pattern that formed a treble clef. A thin silver wire ran through the top row of beads, twisted artistically at the ends around a thin cord that formed a loop at the top. Marinette watched his face as he examined it, and saw the moment he realized what it was. His eyes widened slightly and he looked at her. 

“I hope it’s okay,” she said quietly, fiddling with the end of her pigtail. “I didn’t, um...I didn’t realize your ornaments were so special to you. I didn’t mean to intrude on your tradition.”

“Was this what you were working on that day when I came over and startled you, and you knocked that tray of beads all over the floor?” he asked, looking back at the little rectangle. “They were so tiny. This must have been a lot of work, Marinette.” 

“I didn’t just do this one,” she confessed. “I made some for the others too. It was my first time, but it’s just a different kind of sewing, so it wasn’t too hard, and making the patterns was a little different than designing embroidery, but it was fun. Do...do you like it?” 

Luka leaned over and placed a delicate kiss on her lips. “It’s perfect.” He stood up and went over to the garland tree, taking a hook from an open box sitting on the floor, deliberated for a moment, and then carefully hung the little beaded ornament at eye level. “It’s exactly what it needed,” he said, almost to himself, and then he turned and smiled at Marinette. “A little bit of you.” He looked back at the tree for a moment, letting out a shaky breath. Then he came back to the couch, but before he sat down, he turned off the lamp on the end table. 

He settled next to Marinette and scooted close, putting his arms around her and tugging lightly. She let him pull her down to lean on him, resting her head on his shoulder. One arm held her tightly around the shoulders and the other hand moved to the back of her head, and he leaned his own head on hers. He let out another of those shaky breaths and said quietly, as if reminding himself, “We have now.” 

They sat in silence, the blinking colored lights making patterns on the wall and on their skin. 

Beginning to feel a bit sleepy, Marinette asked, “Did you change your mind about those kisses?” and felt him shake under her with a chuckle.

“Not at all. But...can we stay like this a little longer? I think I...I think I just need another minute, if that’s okay.” He breathed in deep and let it out slowly, and rubbed his cheek against her hair. 

“Of course,” she said, snuggling in closer. “Take as long as you need, Luka.” 

“Can I take forever?” he breathed, so quietly she was sure he didn’t intend her to hear. “Can I just stay here forever?” 

“You could,” she said, and he started slightly. “But that’s an awful long time to wait for kisses.” 

Silence for a beat, and then he started to laugh quietly. He loosened his hold on her, put his fingers under her chin to tip her face up, and kissed her. “You’re right,” he said between kisses. “There’s good things waiting in the future too, after all.”

[bigruntheory]

            “To everything I’ve ever lost, thank you for setting me free.” 

This event happened in Tony William's backyard, Mount Victoria, NSW. Fri 27- Sun 29 November 2020.

This report will swing from serious to joking, but will at all times be genuine with the best intentions; you will just have to try your best to navigate the subtle or dramatic changes for yourself,  bearing that in mind. 

This report is a true (made up on the spot then heavily edited) account of events I experienced within the beating heart of endurance running, the true spiritual home of ultra, the best concept to emerge in running since putting one foot in front of the other:  A Last One Standing Endurance Race. (LOSER)

The Blue Goat Backyard LOSER is a little shorter than the official distance of 6.7 something kms, at just 5.23km a lap, but what it falls short of in distance, it more than makes up for in rugged, uneven, highly technical terrain-  which pretty much makes it Australia’s toughest LOS event. 

Whatever its comparable status, agreed or not, or however you approach it personally, it’s definitely an authentically challenging, scenic course, held within a supportive, fun, party atmosphere: 

 The buzz at the Blue Goat & Fatboy Slim’s Big Beach Boutique II - 

         equally awesome & hazy in my mind- and I was at both. 

These LOS events will work for anyone who enjoys to run.  The Blue Goat Backyard will work for anyone who enjoys to run challenging trails.  And if you don’t like running or trails or a challenge, then they will suit anyone who likes to party while other people do.  So they’re great events for everyone. 

The LOS format will especially suit you if you are on a path to self-discovery, self-transcendence or to just see how far you can personally go and run for, in one go.  You might be surprised to find that in just turning up to have a go, you discover new things about running, runners & yourself.  

 LOS event vibes & hubs will differ somewhat in style, and you can expect them to be as diverse and unique as their hosts-  they should all provide a brilliant gateway for some amazing personal journeys in running & in life.  This one delivered. 

The LOS format, and specifically the way that AAA racing & BMF organise events, means ANYONE of any ability, can come and enjoy the experience of their running lifetime, seeing how far they can go, or set a target of laps or distance and create a PB in a unique, supportive, safe and fun setting.  

When I say party and fun, I mean it. They had the most amazing Britpop and other timeless classics (Creedence/Stones/Beatle’s) blasting out the speaker all day and night; there was also a Robbie Williams song in there.....

Training and attitude will only take you so far- a lairy shirt must do the rest. 

In spite of the bushfires & the pandemic, this event still happened, as seen & predicted by me, which in part is why I felt so deeply that I had to be there. You can’t escape your destiny, really, so you had better make it double awesome when it arrives. 

After last years event ,which slipped under my radar for some reason, Tony’s backyard pretty much got burned to the ground in bushfires which massively damaged the whole Blue Mountains & Hawkesbury areas. There were also floods, which actually helped stop some of the fires but which bought their own destruction. This all happened during the end of 2019 and early 2020, after which everything went tits up, particularly for gyms, trainers & organised racing- due to the reaction to the COVID 19 bullshit pandemic.

                Fun on one of the Blue Goat Bees, earlier in the year.  

Getting involved behind the scene for this years event was great fun.  Seeing it transform gradually until the race day was awesome, it went from burnt sticks, charcoal and indistinguishable trails to looking like a nature trail again by race day.  It still has a way to go, but it’ll get there; it’s still a beautiful course which i parts feels like you are in the Grand Canyon at Blackheath, or the Grose valley, which are only just down the road.  

If I’m correct, I don’t think anyone really thought this event was gonna be on, due to the COVID, but I had no doubt at all… . I knew I had to be there helping out and I knew I had to be there on that starting line and knew I was definitely going there to be the last one standing.  This is not to say that it was time to put my feet up and just waltz in there like it was easy and in the bag - far from it.   I trained hard. Really hard. 

So call me mystic Steve if you like, but months prior to the event I bought a ticket and started manifesting, which is a pretty simple & powerful practice, not to be underestimated at all….it’s very much like goal setting to be honest, except there is a spiritual dimension and much that you can’t explain or prove scientifically.  It works very well with the art of training your body mind & spirit for tough challenges and healing, too, which really go hand in hand. You basically write your story then walk into it. 

                                                                             Law of attraction/ manifestation. 

This write up will cover some matters of running & strategy but mostly matters of the mind, heart & spirit. I present this to the world in genuine gratitude for the experience and I hope that it inspires others to be on that starting corral of an LOS event, wherever that may be, whatever your age, ability or experience.  

                                        How does it all work, this LOS?

Every hour on the hour, you have to be ready in the starting corral to go and run your lap, then back in time to do whatever you need to do-put your feet up, go to the loo, refuel or maybe have a banana & dance like no one is watching you- or in my case, like you are Bez from the Happy Mondays - whatever you do, however you roll, you have to be back in the staring corral to go do just one more lap, again.  It’s really as simple as that. One loop, one hour, make of it what you will and what you can; bring out your soul & enjoy!

  Should you do just one lap, you might find yourself in the position of saying, well why not see if I can do just one more? And so it goes…

These events are happening now, they are quite new & fresh and trust me, they will stand the test of time, because as I keep saying, there’s nothing conceptually better than the Last One Standing Format - it really is the Rock n Roll of endurance running & every event that happens has been a living testimony to that in one way or another.  

Even during a global pandemic, nothing could hold the LOS back; in fact it just got stronger & rose to another level.   While other events we imploding, postponing, being moved virtually and seeing reductions in numbers and interest, the annual Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra, usually in Tennessee,  went ahead, on a satellite basis, across the world, live on the internet, and made history with record breaking performances & a once in a lifetime twist to the team dynamic; a twist so good, and a global audience buzz so great, that even the satellite event format will definitely go forward in some form or other into 2021 and beyond…..so many benefits to keeping things local and compet8ing more widely.....

      The Australian Team sporting their AURA gear ready to take on the world.

Each country put a team together, which lifted the LOS format into another dimension. Instead of competing against your own team mates & globally in Tennessee, each country had their own teams on their own loops, competing against other teams. So in effect, this bought teams together and made the connection between the assist & the Last One Standing less of a battle of breaking the other down and more of a battle of building the other up, supporting them and remaining strong for the team.  How good is that to see in  competitive endurance running!?

                  Clint Eastwood, still cool after all these years.

I fell in love with the LOS format when I watched the Clint Eastwood Last One Standing, hosted by AAA Racing in Oxley Park Queensland and it was great to watch many of the same familiar faces, with the same party atmosphere, running together and taking on the world at the World Champs.  Massive, genuine kudos to the whole team from the Clint Eastwood  & The Big Dog satellite event, all runners and behind the scenes – and Sam Penny needs special mention for the GoPro awesomeness, without which I may never have had that fly on the wall buzz of being at the event.

So, runners of all ages and abilities, whatever your goal, this is your opportunity to get up and at it & be part of something life-changing, challenging & massively fun, one short lap at a time.

Don’t go thinking you have to be superman, genetically gifted or even an ultrarunner or even a ‘runner’ Basically just ditch any thought or label that creates doubt or fear or holds you back and simply get up and go for it. You just need to be willing to turn up and have a go & enjoy the experience.

        “Anyone can do anything”  Tony Williams, Blue Mountains Fitness.

So, there was this running race my running mates told me about & I can’t remember when I made the decision to be there but it was also around the time a running mate was talking about helping out building trails and tracks and I know this must sound vague and I’m probably getting my wires crossed but I somehow put these two ideas together & they gave birth to the idea that I needed to be at the Blue Goat Backyard. And that’s how it all began….

Thanks to Tony & Alun – the whole BMF & AAA Racing collective , Fabiano & Sean for being on hand to help and support and look after us through the night and day and Keith for the awesome photos- popping up all over the course to catch candid snaps- all the sponsors, too. T8 for the awesome shorts and underpants, Papadino’s for the Pizzas & the prize voucher even made peace with Tailwind and had a recoverite after the event.

Thanks to all the people I met and worked with on the several bees & for all the care, imagination & spirit that put energy into making this happen- the whole event- not just the LOS; all the work that goes into delivering a vision into reality, planting the seed & helping it grow.  

                            Hawkesbury Trail Runners

Massive shout out to the Hawkesbury Trail Runners!  So glad you all came to support the event you fell in love with last year before a period of tragedy hit the area and awesome to see you at the event (well, sort of -in the heat of the moment and the day, socialising was very short lived due to needing to cool down, fuel up and get back out;  and after the event, I puked up & conked out!) Managed to wave and mumble to a few of you and had a chat with regular run buddies Mike & Vicki.

You all did so well, especially in that fierce heat and I’m  quite fond of the memories of just blurting random stuff out in the zone- the Britpop running the event of your lifetime zone….

Congrats to Jackie and Claudio in their runs, had a brief chat with Jackie in the fierce heat....also to Matt & Jen from Plus Fitness running the marathon and half respectively on a tough course in tough conditions.

All any of us really need to do is turn up and make the most of it, and that’s exactly what everyone did; and that’s how a great event works, really, so let’s all do it again next year!  Mystic Steve predict big things happening in the Blue Goat Backyard for 2021…..!

Whilst I was busy running and didn’t get to join in the party for too long & during the later phases and the high heat was stumbling around like a bull in a china shop, it was huge fun singing, dancing &, running all night and day. The energy I drew from Britpop was out of this world!  I’ve never sung & danced at an Ultra or race before to my knowledge. It just got better with every lap!  

Massive thanks for all the runners I had a chitchat with and shared a song joke or story with, however mish mash it all was, it was great fun all night and day - and apologies for the audible fart and swearing- it was quite challenging keeping this under the radar at times.  

 Everyone who stepped up to that course was a winner whatever the goal, distance or outcome. Sorry if I missed you on the day, or if I didn't miss you but wasn't making much sense in the delirium of hot endurance. Here’s some awesome photos:

Rob heads up to the Corral.

It is said, when you blow this horn, Beer & Pizza arrives

The drone, sounds like a swarm of bees.

In all the excitement I forgot to get a t shirt. 

   Got some awesome car stickers though and part of a Goat’s skull. 

When I’m in the zone I often adopt a different persona and mindset-  I’m not the same often reserved introvert as when you see me under normal conditions; I guess the animated extroversion gets magnified , as you’d expect from anyone giving the performance of their life up on stage.  

There are moments of surrender, where I’m in total alignment with higher self, emitting my frequency with a genuine smile & peace into the world and that is where the practice creates the art.....

    Endurance running is all about finding your inner peace, well, sort of....

        I think Alun’s singing Tom Jones here- I’ve zoned out to Oasis classics

I missed the presentation- seems to be a trend of mine (happened after the Hounslow Double when, after accidentally busting in on the elite presentation, did I mention bull in china shop already? I went and nodded off in the car!) That was the inaugural year when Tony took out the first place in the Double by a long, long way.

After it was all over, I puked up then momentarily imploded and had a lie down.

                         Deep relaxation is really good for you.  

The medics gave me ice packs and aimed a big fan on me (was really nice to have a fan at one of my races, actually, i could get used to that) They took good care of me, so thank you for the care and the cups of tea and water I recall there were two of you and you were lovely.  I had a power snooze for a couple of minutes, which I think actually lasted a couple of hours, and I cooled down, which brought me back to life.

Before this, I fondly recall running up to the corral giving the goats a wave the final time and being greeted by everyone going wild.

                                                   Hello gorgeous.

I blurted out a speech, that I know would've made total sense to everyone if it actually left my lips the way it was written by my heart- the former not sure, the latter no doubts.  Basically gratitude, peace & love, keep going, never give up and things will get better- as in running so in life. ❤️

In spite of it being the hottest day of the year so far and genuinely a tough course we had a lot of laughs and fun moments in the middle of it all. Some of it is a Blur but most of it was Oasis and also notable tunes also from the Stone Roses, Muse, Radiohead, Prodigy, Rolling Stones, The Verve, Doves, Manics, REM and many many more

             Music is medicine & I’m so grateful to my musical brothers & sisters.

There were several different events happening at the same time during the heat and middle of the day and it became a little confusing at times with all the different energies going off around the hub, but once back into the peace & calm of focussing on the running every hour, everything made sense and came together. The music fired me up like a second wind every lap, I thought I was dreaming at one point, like I could not have scripted the day better if I’d have sat there and made up my own story about a perfect day out running around with Britpop classics in the background, because that’s exactly what it was like!  

Again, never underestimate the power of manifestation, positive thinking and the art of raising your vibration so that you attract good, positive people & experiences into your life.

I can’t wait to go to Queensland now and join in for an all weekend running party at the Clint Eastwood. I can see myself dancing and singing my way round that course al day and night and day and.....well, if they’ll let me in!

                           Correct, you also swear and sing a fair bit as well.

I’ve said it before I’ll keep saying it and you heard it from me first: There is nothing conceptually better in running than a Last One Standing Endurance Race. It’s the Rock n Roll of endurance running.  It’s raw, simple, pure & true and it happens in the now. It provides a stage for you to give the greatest performance of your life-  every present moment-  every hour, on the hour & all the minutes in between. It really gives you the opportunity to be loud & proud and really turn up, (not just to be fully in the present moment) your training and turn up your performance to the next level.

                                         Turn up, turn it up & BE LOUD!   

As in running so in life; God calls upon you to bring all that you are to the starting corral and step up into the very highest version of yourself. All your experiences, the culmination of physical mental & spiritual training, as you step into space, out past the music (of Britpop!) into the blinding lights, then the darkness & then the many winding turns that lead us to who knows where, because there is no finish, is no end….. the end is just the beginning, of another loop, another lap- another chance to shine.

                            Competitive mindset bypass. There is no finish, there is no competition, there is no advantage to being the fastest runner, no disadvantage to being the slowest. Anyone who can complete a lap in time to be back ready to go out on another, has an equal chance at being the last one standing to complete that beautiful, identical repetition of what we all love: simply running in nature; one foot in front of the other, moving forward, fully grounded in the present moment; putting the practice of our meditative flow state into effect as best we can.  

The reality of endurance trail running is that it is a tough struggle and your achievements are hard earned.   Such is anything worth doing.  And I’m sure anyone who heard me stumbling, swearing singing & shouting through the dark and the day, will  attest that I am not the exactly an oasis of calm- I’m probably more like Oasis the band.

As many of you may already realise or guess from reading this, I don’t take the competitive, type a personality,  or egoic side of running at all seriously.  I do genuinely regard running as part of a spiritual practice. It can at times be done purely as a spiritual practice, like meditation or Yoga or making music. Running can bring us together, individually and collectively. 

Not every time that  run do I run spiritually, just as not every time I sit down do I meditate or every time I pick up my guitar do I make medicine music; sometimes I just make a noise or just sit or just go and run and zone out to music, However, there is a great light to be found  when you just get out into nature and breathe and move gracefully, gratefully and in complete alignment with the flow of the universe and everything in it. 

The Bluegoat track, like a spiritual path, is rocky, uneven, twisting & turning, it requires total concentration & surrender to the process; still you may trip, slip, maybe fall; there will be blood, sweat  & tears….you need to climb & descend, there are milestones, you meet others at different stages in their journeys and there is no finish in sight; there are surprises, tests and you find yourself back at the beginning with each cycle….

There are tears and laughter and moments you don’t even comprehend at the time. It can be dark and ugly and chew you up and spit you out many times, all day long in fact....until you surrender to the process and let go.....Then you may see, there are obstacles and trials, but they are not in your way; the only thing standing in your way is you – and that’s really more of an illusion you created than a real living person, so you just get your unreal self out of the way and let your best self shine-  & shine it does…. 

You can tell this is lap 1 - my legs are the still the same colour as my shirt.

All you need to succeed, at whatever you turn your mind to, is a single-minded determinism- pure focus & intention of putting one foot in front of the other and deciding not to stop until you have succeeded.  May you spirit drive your machine wherever you may roam, knowing within you , is where you are home,.

So now we know the power of manifestation and endurance and the value of community &  service to others, the plan must be created to use apply energy skills to seed & grow something of genuine, lasting value in this world.  So that’s what’s gonna happen….it’s out there in the Universe, God is my witness, momentum is building,  so watch this space….like, not literally here this is just a web page. 

Whilst I train & participate in events during all conditions, phases & biorhythms, I do love a full moon.   Clear full moon nights are magical & highly energetic; Blue Moon rising at the Blue Goat was perfectly poetic!

I'm not knocking a new moon, by polar contrast, or any other phase, but the energy was just right and I guess I was feeling lucky.

Let’s talk about feeling ‘lucky’ as I’ve already stated my predictions and what I positively manifested with my energies & intentions form the moment I made the instant decision to be at this race.  

I basically created my own luck through being completely honest with myself whether this was something I could achieve.

Did I have what it takes to run at an LOS event? Of course, I did, no doubts at all. Why? Not arrogance or confidence, but the format itself.  You can’t really lose in an LOS unless you are the last one standing!  So going to win is going lose, and losing is glorious in all its forms.   There is no shame in the DNF (Did Not Finish) at all if you’ve given your all. The DNF in other events is nothing to strive for or celebrate, but the DNF in the LOSER is a test to see how far you can go….what could be more pure? And the only one who doesn’t get to fully reach their potential on the day; reach the peak of what they can do on that day, during their race time, is the Last One Standing.

I created my own luck by setting my intention and my energy to creating & following a training program that would enable me to achieve my goals.  I visualised being the last one standing for months and I trained like it was in the bag already, because that was what I felt deeply.

I knew it was my time & I had the God given ability to create my story & walk right into it.  I said many times during the event that it was just perfect and that I couldn’t have scripted it better myself.  I stepped into a higher version of myself that I’d created through some very tough training & some heartfelt actions; in another sense it felt like I was on stage performing.  

Apart from key milestones that marked out the path of consistent focus and intuitive training, as I regained fitness from hiatus, there were some very specific and tough challenges that I set myself in order to prepare for a race of this nature. A race that just goes & goes & goes interminably requires you to leave no stone unturned regards you physical body, your mental ability your nutrition plan & your spirit. Someone once said runners don’t’ run with their legs they run with their arms.  I believe runners. once the body is trained sufficiently, run with their minds- and the mind is fuelled by limitless energy & power of the spirit.  

So you go through every motion of training and preparing your physical body and you feed you mind and your spirit with positive thoughts and genuine love for self & for others. If you don’t see this kind of thing in training programs, then you soon will do just as soon as I can get my shit together…..

I’d watched the Clint Eastwood & I’d watched the Big Dog & I fell in love with the concept of the LOS. I fell in love with all the people in the front row. The runners slogging it out in the Clint Eastwood LOS & the Australian team at Bigs Backyard Ultra satellite event. I decided in a moment that I wanted to be part of it, so I made it happen; the moment I’d made my mind up, everything started falling into place and I was sent signs and opportunities that I had to take without a moments thought. I knew that everything surrounding this journey had to be  centered on other, something outside of, larger than self.

 An ex Army bloke from the UK RunGrahamRun was doing a mental health charity treadmill World Record helping blokes with mental health and suicide prevention.  The run was to complete 21  marathons in 7 days – on a treadmill! . He invited teams to rival of beat him in the challenge. So I supported this and set out to do just 7 marathons in 7 days.

This set me up very nicely for the next opportunity in my path, which was to support Mark Avery doing a 20 marathons in 20 days challenge for Gotch4Life and Run4MentalFitness- an Australian blokes charity helping with suicide prevention and setting up places for blokes to engage in ways that deal with the root of bloke issues.  Safe places to share stories, feelings and concerns without judgement. 

Instead of just marathons,  I actually did ultramarathons and also added in a lot of cycling. I know how to listen to my body and push it through adaptations with fasting, nutrition & specifically focussed rotations across all terrains and relevant speeds and intensities.  You are really just calibrating a complex God driven physical body through a series of experiences in order to achieve a specific goal. 

The goal in this instance was conceptually perfect in that it was technically interminable, ie. kind of eternal.  You simply had to train to go as far as you could go; so you had to see how close to the edge you could get to that point in the training, without breaking yourself.   

I genuinely pushed my limits and discovered more about running and endurance than all the hours my studying had taught me, and infinitely more than debating with ultra coaches online could ever have revealed. I trained and pushed harder and longer than ever before and also balanced that with more rest & recovery and fine tuning than ever before. I applied every technique I knew and discovered exactly what nutrition worked best in all situations. 

After all the training and the experience of others doubts, I thought it would be quite amusing to win one of the toughest ultra endurance challenges in Australia while singing and dancing & wearing a lairy pink shirt and cargo shorts I got from Big W, fuelled up with honey water, bananas and hemp and walnut oil .   I had a plan, a 50 hour plan. It consisted of 30 litres of honey water (1kg raw honey per 10l)  25 ripe bananas, 250ml x Hemp seed oil 250ml x Walnut oil, a few vitamin e capsules and  a few coq10 capsules. 

So let that be a cheeky lesson to all you very serious runners in your expensive compression gear, with your gadgets & gimmicks and fancy nutritional products & lord knows what else you use, slogging away to the beat of your watch, as I did before a great meltdown of over training and loss of genuine joy-  in running and in life.  In many ways the way I run today is a result of hard lessons and failures, or going too far too son, and burning out. I’ve been obsessed with a quicker this a quicker that, gotta beat the last time every time.....lets set an unrealistic goal....it slowly takes all the joy out of your passion like all addictions inevitably do. 

Let this light shine on those who talk the talk so readily in their little cliques and so called training groups, especially those who have personally attacked me and tried to shut me down or censor the story of my training and my experiences for reasons best known to their egos and projected issues. I forgive ya. 

 May the light of my achievements and those of my brothers & sisters- everyone walking the walk- everyone saying I can-  illuminate the dark attitudes of the ‘can’t’do this ‘can’t’ do that-  and the put downs and rationalising words of so called science, and disbelief in your training, thinking , fuelling, wider wellness strategies..... genuine experiences......May my brothers & sisters who are in doubt, or disliking, hating, fearing, not loving, put down the ego, and find a better way.  May my walk inspire others to walk the walk and to never say they can’t do something, or be held back by others as to what they think they can or can’t achieve.  And may I long take all my own best advice back to my own heart as well and never forget it.  

Everyone, today, just get outside  and get moving and enjoy what you are doing and be grateful that you can do what you can do; and you’ll find that you can do a lot more and a lot more and a lot more......  

             Genuine footage from an online Ultra running research conference.

 I know what it’s like to lose things, we all do, but there’s no use banging on about that old story; a great spiritual teacher recently told me that I had to put that down and never pick it up again.... and so it is.  So know this - an event that celebrates losing in all its glory is of divine significance when you are running on a spiritual path.  You ether win or your learn ; and in a race/journey with no winners, everybody learns, which is a glorious & pure win win paradox. 

It takes the biggest fear in endurance running - the dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish) and turns it into a glorious badge of honour. A badge that says you gave your all. You went as far as YOU could go on that day, in that place. There is nothing to fear in the LOS regarding a DNF.  You really cannot lose.....

......unless you win!? Ooops, well, oh well, I think I can handle it. 

I wasn’t quite ready for my glorious DNF just yet, so I became the biggest LOSER.  And I’ll just have to wait and see where my glorious limits truly lie.....

                    I caught quite a tan out there. 

So, after an extended power snooze I revived myself and had some pizza and some Goat’s pish, and enjoyed the hospitality and company of Tony,Alun & Susannah, thereafter kipping on the sofa for the night, where upon I made a swift exit the next morning, before the England v Wales Rugby came on....I think I might’ve predicted the score and dIdn’t want to hang about for it.

Truth is, I had to get back to talk to my son Jack (also race strategy/challenge consultant) on the phone and then on Zoom and told him the news.. He was pleased I won, and notwithstanding the pep talks about the true nature of taking part, he  rightly likes it when I win.  I think it has a positive effect when your son knows that you’ve gone and done something a bit special, even if it might not make full sense to him now, it may well help him in the future, so that's a win win. I actually asked him during one of the training cycles (20 maras in 20 days) whether I should beat everyone on the leaderboard or let the organiser take the top spot. He said nah, beat him, I don’t think he’ll mind if you win. So that’s what I did.... thanks for the tip matey! 

So here endeth the tale of a fantastic weekend and experience, can’t wait for next year, see if we can get double the numbers starting and smash some course records. Hoping to see more of my running buddies on that starting corral with me having a dance and a song and then heading out onto the endless, beautiful loops of our own personal limits...... anything can and always does happen in a race- sorry journey- of this kind.  

You may be next years LOS, with me to help you to go as far as I possibly can, leaving YOU to do just one last loop and be the biggest LOSER on the day?  You know it makes sense.   Big love from Steve. :)

[zydrateacademy]

First Impressions / Review - Cyberpunk 2077

I have some screenshots but they’re mostly photo mode and the occasional interface showing off my gear. So this review will be pic-less for now. I got Cyberpunk off of Stimulus money so as far as I’m concerned, the government paid for this game which does negate some of the problems I’d normally have for dropping 80$ or so on a preorder. Use that information how you will. First, I want to address some technical issues. In the sense that I don’t have very many. I have a 1050 GTX, an i5 processor, and 16GB of Ram. That’s about as complex as my knowledge goes on that. I’ve had a few glitches like Jackie ghosting through a closed door, some vans were clipped into the parking lot, and some NPC’s being stuck in furniture. A lot of ghosting around, really. The odd frame drop but nothing game breaking, and I haven’t had any crashes except one on startup, right after updating my drivers. Just the one in ~21 hours of gameplay. I play on High (but not ultra) settings. So all in all, not a bad experience. Everyone’s computer is a unique butterfly so while you will see a lot of yelling on various communities, some of us are trucking along several hour sessions at a time and not having a problem. Let’s do a quick dive into the story, and there may be some spoilers here but it’s mostly for Act 1, which is reachable just a couple hours depending on how quickly you want to unlock the whole city (as you’re locked to one region until you complete a major heist). 

You play as V, of any variety of gender identity you wish (though you are stuck with he or she pronouns). Basically a futuristic mercenary that does any kind of work available, kind of giving me some vibes from Burn Notice. Arms deals, stealing fans, VIP extraction, and so on. Of course, nothing goes as plan and you more or less lose your entire initial team after a heist goes wrong in every way possible. You’re witness to a world changing shift in a power structure and are forced to insert a chip with the ‘soul’ of Johnny Silverhand, an angry and incredibly bitter man who staged a bombing decades before V enters the game. This becomes the driving force of the game as you work to remove him safely from your body before he replaces you entirely - Something that not even he can stop, really. I’ve only had my toes dipped in Cyberpunk as a genre but it seems pretty standard fare. The concepts of “do cybernetics eat your soul’ and the various debate of how much human makes a human, all that. You’re put right there in center force as you grapple with these questions, even though our avatar as V is more concerned with just curing themselves like it was any other terminal disease. Even in-universe, the idea of a soul-preserving microchip is still a relatively new invention, though still in development enough to be advertised and talked about in news circuits. So let’s approach my first problem. It takes several hours for the game to essentially ‘wake up’. For a long time, you’re stuck in several conversations and interactable cutscenes with very little gameplay except taking advantage of V’s chosen origin in dialog. A couple of firefights here and there but the initial region locks you in and there’s only so many world encounters to just run into. The game more or less railroads you into completing Act 1 with some haste, because it also unlocks the ability to get more cybernetics and even some actual, full on mechanics. Within that railroading, you’re witness to so. Much. God. Damn. Talking. Mercifully you can press or hold “c” to skip through some things if you already understand the gist, but the first several hours of the game can very much feel like a very pretty walking simulator. Thankfully this kind of goes away after Act 1. You suddenly get called by a variety of Fixers that preside over various regions and they toss you dozens of side-jobs to do and so far, I find them to be delightfully varied. As a stealther, I found great joy in having a VIP escort quest with the optional objective of not sounding any alarms. So I went and bought myself a silencer and happily snuck around some gang mates boxing in the middle of a building, retrieved my guy, and escorted him outside while leaving several enemies alive. It was a great achievement. These side-gigs can be as complicated or straightforward as you please, giving me some Dues Ex vibes. The tutorial introduces you to hacking so you can distract and destroy your enemies how you see fit, and I have found that most encounters are designed with alternate routes to deal with enemies. Others are less clear. During one gig, I opened a door and the entire bar went ape on me, so I shot my way through and earned two stars from the police. Turned into a massive shootout that led to a dropbox that had gang members in it that also shot at me. Playing on Easy is a saving grace, but as someone who typically likes sneaking around games when the option is available, I wish the game made it more clear if I'm in a "suspicious" type zone. I also have no idea which NPC's are counted as potential enemies (the scan early in the story tells you if they're in a gang or not), as perfectly normal NPC's in the aforementioned bar just began unloading on me. It was wild, and I survived and got paid but the mission giver telling me it was sloppy work. Thanks, lady. Another time I opened a gate and trained my silenced pistol on the guard only for her to slightly sidestep as the gate opening “alerted” her. So I missed the shot, she opened fire, and the entire structure came out to play. It was an intense gunfight in which I was victorious, but it felt hollow as my silenced approach just botched the entire encounter. It was difficult for me to figure out what the game’s general “loop” is. So far it gives me the Ubisoft vibe of “hit everything you run into”. I do like the idea of V being something of a vigilante, as random police encounters pretty much allow you to intervene and gun down gang members without them bothering you about it. I must admit, however, I wish there was more to actually DO in the game. So far it’s mostly just side-gig after side-gig. Escort guy here, steal a van there, eliminate all enemies here. Though again, I said before that some of this can be quite enjoyable under the right circumstances. Maddening in others. In a way, this is kind of the Rage 2 problem all over again, in the sense that people loved the general gunplay but there wasn’t actually a lot of gameplay beyond the decent combat mechanics. Cyberpunk 2077 is certainly no GTA5, but I hope some day it can become that with DLC’s that add actual activities.

A couple of quick asides. I despise the driving, as most vehicles seem to want to spin out very easily if you hold the turning key for a second too long. In some fashion, it forces you to drive like an actual sane person and mowing down civilians (even accidentally) adds a GTA-esque wanted level though it seems stupidly easy to avoid. Narratively, it makes sense as the authorities in this universe are incredibly corrupt and it basically amounts to “eh, they’re too far now, let’s not waste resources”. So, fair enough. Still, I hope to GOD there’s no mandatory story-based racing. Games have screwed me on that before, and I have not beaten most GTA games because of that. Secondly, I don’t think the origin choice does a lot. You get different dialog choices and being a Corpo did lead to one interesting turn when you just ‘knew’ a credit chip had a virus on it. So there is that, but ultimately the rest of the dialog is identical. You could chalk this up to V spending six months with Jackie and he, more or less, lets your V really swim in Night City culture but honestly ALL V choices feel like they’ve become the same person. I was originally a Corpo but it just feels like her past and culture didn’t seep in through most of the dialog. At the end of the day, V is always just some mercenary punk. The world is gorgeous, albeit not as alive as it may have been advertised in promotions. Random civilians just have canned dialog, a lot of it rude. However I’ve been hard pressed to find doubles or clones of anyone just walking around, but that may change once I get into the hundreds of hour counts. It’s a very pretty game and despite some of my qualms, I am enjoying the experience. There’s a photo mode which is wonderful to utilize when you run into an environment that just captures the imagination. I took a screenshot of Jackie’s wall of pinups, including a typical slutty nun but as per the universe, her chest filled with beautifully placed cybernetics. It was just fun to see, and there’s a lot of semi-subtle world building like that that I just adore.

The game has issues. However, if you wanted a slightly scaled back idea of GTA5 with a different aesthetic, this is not at all a bad choice. However I will not blame anyone if they wait for the “GOTY” editions to come out. And on sale.

[goodbyecringe]

(Un)Natural Selection Chapter 14

Éponine

“I’m pleased to announce that the Queen’s Annual Garden Party will take place one week from now! Her Majesty will be welcoming 500 citizens that have dedicated their lives to the betterment of Illeá through the practice of civil servitude. You will be expected to be the epitome of grace and manners, which is why we will be replacing history lessons with more etiquette lessons,” Claudia beamed.

The room became a buzz with girls smiling and giggling. Cosette turned to me beaming with excitement. While I was relieved to take a break from history lessons, etiquette could be equivalent to a death sentence.

“Oh Éponine, I need to tell my maids so they can get started on the perfect dress! I’m thinking a light baby blue so I can have little flowers in my hair,” she giggled.

“That sounds beautiful. You’ll look amazing,” I said half heartedly.

I didn’t need to tell Cosette that she would look great because it was just common knowledge. I focussed on staying awake rather than paying attention to the rest of the girl’s conversations. Even with the sleeping pills that Combeferre had prescribed I hadn’t been able to sleep since the nightmares started. After he cornered me in the hallway all I could see were his dark brown eyes and yellow smile. Montraparnese had tried to kiss me, which only resulted in his physical assault to the groin.

It was the first time my maids had seen me really lose it during my stay. Elise let me collapse into her arms while Laila went to get Mariam. After I calmed down Laila spent nearly an hour rotating between hot and cold compresses on my arm. The bruise that he had left on my wrist was an ugly red that Laila was unable to cover before my date with Enjolras. I didn’t tell them who did it to me because I remembered what Parnese yelled as I ran towards my room.

“I’d be careful who you tell about this, unless you plan on telling him about us.”

If I told Enjolras, he would find out about my history with Montraparnese and I’d be expelled from the Selection. Who could know what my father told Parnese before he was drafted. Did he know about Cosette?

“Éponine, can you repeat what I just said about the difference between drinking coffee and tea?” Claudia asked, marching in front of my seat.

“Ummm,” I stalled looking around the room.

Some girls were giving a vicious smile, happy to see who they believed to be Enjolras’ favorite fail in class. Some girls, like Cosette, looked horrified knowing that my failure would be reported to the King and Queen. Claudia, however, showed no emotion, as she always remained a neutral character.

“You put your pinky out when you sip tea?” I guessed.

The room immediately erupted into laughter.

“Musichetta, can you please help Éponine correct her mistake?”

“Of course Claudia! When drinking tea the middle finger supports the bottom of the cup and the thumb and index finger grip the handle. When drinking coffee, you can loop the index finger through the handle. Don’t worry Éponine, I made that mistake the first time I dined with members of a royal family,” she smiled.

For the most part I found Musichetta’s comment to be mostly empathetic.

I tried to hide in my seat during the rest of the lesson while other girls demonstrated their superior knowledge. Why couldn’t Royals learn about pickpocketing or how to lie? I would excel in those lessons. As the clock signalled that the hour of etiquette lessons had passed, I attempted to be the first person out of the door.

“May I speak with you for a moment, Éponine?” Claudia called.

“Might as well go pack your bags, Six,” Teresa sneered.

“Might as well go pack your attitude. It’ll be awhile before I care about what you think of me,” I smirked, wrinkling my nose.

“Miss Jondrette,” Claudia began. “You are obviously at a disadvantage here because of your upbringing, so I don’t fault you for that. However, at this rate it will take you a year before you’re at the level of some other girls. Now I am aware that you’ve been on several dates with Prince Enjolras, but I am obligated to report your progress to the King and Queen.”

“Well can’t we just do some extra meetings? I mean I’ve been trying to practice with my maids, but they can only help so much.”

“I’m not permitted to fulfill any such request unless you are chosen as one of The Elite. I suggest that you ask one of the other girls to help you. I just want you to know that if you can’t perform basic etiquette it doesn’t matter how much the Prince likes you, the King and Queen would never approve.”

Claudia didn’t say anything in a condescending tone. Although it was very easy to perceive it as such. If she didn’t want me to succeed she wouldn’t have talked to me today. I left feeling a strange pull between defensive and thankful.

“Lady Éponine,” I heard a voice call from behind me.

I turned around to see Bossuet jogging towards me.

“Would you be so kind to join Les Amis in the Men’s Room?” He asked with a cheery expression on his face.

“If I’m permitted in the Men’s Room then I would be honored to dine with you,” I smiled.

Lunch with Les Amis would be a refreshing change from the girls. Most of them had started to warm up to me, but a few were still acting like pompous princesses. As we approached the door I noticed that this was the first time I hadn’t seen Grantaire standing outside. Bossuet must have noticed my face because he laughed.

“Grantaire will be assisting with today’s demonstration, My Lady,” he said as we walked into the Men’s Room.

“Please Bossuet, just call me Éponine. We’re both Sixes, there’s no need for formalities.”

“Actually, when addressing the future Princess of Illeá, we would prefer to use proper formalities,” Courfeyrac smiled.

All of the boys were standing in a line behind a small table set for four people. The Men’s Room was brighter than the backroom of the Musain, and every boy appeared relaxed.

“You must have the wrong Selected girl. I was just told no matter how much Enjolras likes me I’ll never be royal until I can learn some manners.”

“That’s exactly why we’ve asked you here today! We, with the great aid of Grantaire, will be leading etiquette lessons in preparation of the Queen’s Garden Party,” Courfeyrac beamed.

“Éponine if you’d please sit here,” Combeferre said, pulling out a chair.

I sat down in the chair as Bahorel, Fueilly, and Bossuet joined me at the table. Joly, Jehan Prouvaire, and Courfeyrac stood behind them while Combeferre remained behind me.

“Everyone will have some one on one instruction while we go through lunch. Grantaire will be serving and I’m sure he’ll help as much as possible,” Courfeyrac said.

With Courfeyrac as my guide I felt comfortable and confident. His gentle reminders how to hold each glass and which utensil to use were subtle. For once I wasn’t the worst person at the table. During the first course Bossuet dropped his glass, leaving water and broken glass covering the table. It took two more courses for Joly to stop worrying about glass shards. Feuilly slurped everything that entered his mouth, which made Jehan Prouvaire almost lose his calm demeanor. Bahorel did well until he asked if he could light a cigarette during dessert.

“Clearly, we need to do a few more of these before the Garden Party,” Combeferre said, pinching his nose.

“Come on, Ferre you have to give Éponine the credit she’s due. She was by far the best at the table.”

“Oh no, I definitely shouldn’t be called the best,” I said, shaking my hands.

“I think we could make an argument,” I heard a voice say from behind me.

“Enjolras, Anna said she was having lunch with you.”

“We did, it was informative. Excuse me Friends, but I need to speak with Éponine,” he said, holding out his hand.

I grabbed Enjolras’s hand and waved to Les Amis as we exited the Men’s Room. We walked down the long hallway until entering the garden.

“So is there any particular reason you’re gracing me with your presence so unexpectedly?” I asked, as we walked on a pebble trail.

“You’ve inspired me to make an important decision,” he smiled.

“Why aren’t I excited?”

“Because there’s a possibility that it involves your money. Your points about the lavish spendings surrounding the Selection made me realize that my future wife isn’t here for the money. So I decided to forgo the stipend for all natural born Fours and higher. The money saved will go towards the Caste Relief Program,” Enjolras said, holding his breath.

“Only Fours and higher?” I asked.

“Well from my research all of the lower castes need the stipend. With a few Fours its need is debatable, but for the most part the Fours can do without it.”

“I mean what’s a few months stipend for a lifetime of security?” I turned to face him.

“Exactly. You’re only the second girl I’ve told so I would appreciate it if it could stay between us until I tell everyone. I hope to finish sometime this evening, and announce it to the media tomorrow morning.”

“That’s a good decision. People will see you as generous and considerate,” I said, sitting on a bench.

“Well what do you see me as?” He asked, sitting next to me.

Did my heart skip a beat? No. Would any other girl have gone into cardiac arrest? Yes.

“I see you as a man with good intentions that is passionate about his beliefs. You’re a good person,” I noted, nodding my head.

“You are too. A good person I mean,” he said, looking into my eyes.

My heart ignited with rage. I want to stand up and scream about how he didn’t know anything about me. But I didn’t stand and scream, I could only stare at my hands, folded neatly in my lap. Enjolras could never know anything about Éponine Thenardier.

“I hate to contradict, Your Highness, but I am not a good person. I’ve never done anything good in my life.”

“You’re humble too,” he smiled, not taking me seriously.

“No, Enjolras. I’ve never done anything with a good intention in my life. At the last meeting when you were describing the banquet and how all of us would help the hungry man, I didn’t. I didn’t get up from my seat to give him my food, even though I knew everything that man was feeling. I’ve been hungry,” I said, my thought trailing off.

“I can understand, Éponine,” Enjolras said, putting his hand on my shoulder.

“I’m sorry but you really can’t. There was a summer a few years ago when I hadn’t seen my father in days. Azelma and I were sure he had died in some alley. My mother was inconsolable and refused to leave her room. There was a point when I was staring out of a window in our apartment and I started to hallucinate. ‘Zelma said I opened the window and tried to jump, but she pulled me back,” I remembered, feeling a tear fall on my wrist.

There was a bit of a pause while Enjolras gathered his thoughts.

“I am truly sorry, Éponine,” was all he said.

We sat together in silence for a bit. I watched two Blue Jays play in a birdbath while Enjolras stared at them. He wasn’t really watching, it was just where his eyes had landed. He walked me to the Women’s Room, where he asked for Cosette to join him in the hallway. He didn’t say goodbye, which was fine because I didn’t know if I wanted to address him. I wasn’t angry with his reaction, or lack thereof.

As I read in the corner of the Women’s Room I heard Musichetta whisper to some other girls.

“I don’t know what happened on their date but she was hysterical when she came back to her room. I tried to watch her from my room but a guard came and shut the door,” she exclaimed.

“That’s horrible. She must have done something horrible to be sent home after just a lunch,” Liberty said.

Enjolras had sent Anne home right before he talked to me. He didn’t seem remotely affected by his sudden elimination, or any of the previous ones. Maybe his lack of reaction had shown me a colder side of him.

I stayed in the Women’s Room for a few hours and watched as Enjolras called girl after girl. After talking to Cosette about Anne’s elimination I decided to go back to my room and take a nap before dinner. When I arrived, Elise nearly attacked me with her excitement.

“This arrived for you about an hour ago!” She said, holding out an envelope addressed to me.

Éponine,

I’m sorry I didn’t have more to say earlier. You stated that you didn’t think that you were a good person, so I’ve compiled a list of every good thing you’ve done since you’ve been in the Selection. Thank you for confiding such an intimate story to me, and I promise that I won’t repeat it to anyone else. I’m looking forward to a real date with you on Thursday.

E

[freedom-shamrock]

Two are Better, But Three is Best - Chapter Three

Also on AO3

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The second part of this chapter includes some sexy talk and implies sexual intent, but there is no on screen sex. 

Please Stay

Marinette was a little surprised to hear voices from inside the apartment when she reached Luka's door.  He hadn't mentioned company, and it was a little disappointing because she kind of wanted to pounce on him for a nice heavy makeout before they went out dancing.  She knocked on the door.

"Come on in," Luka called.

She stepped across the threshold to find a scowly Adrien sitting on the couch next to her boyfriend.  "Hey Adrien." She kicked off her sandals and scampered over to give both young men a hug. "You okay?" she asked, surprised when he continued to look frustrated.  He was a people-pleaser, and it was in his nature to hide things rather than make people uncomfortable. That he wasn't concealing his feelings spoke volumes of how he felt here at Luka's or just how angry he was.

Adrien shrugged, slouching into the couch a bit. "My father's being a complete asshole."  He rolled his eyes. "Even more than usual. Like, take his usual dickwad behavior and turn it up to eleven."

She winced. His language alone was a good indicator of how bad things were with Gabriel. "I'm so sorry. You don't deserve that at all."  She gave him another hug, holding him a little longer this time. "Is there anything I can do?"

He shook his head, his messy blond hair flopping about. "I have to make some pretty extreme decisions on how I want to deal with this, and… really, it's all on me to do that at this point. I've put it off way too long already."  He looked at Luka. "Thanks for letting me vent, for listening. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime, Adrien," Luka promised with a slow nod. "And when you've decided what you want to do, let me know.  Let us know. We're here for you, okay?"

Adrien's smile was small and hesitant, but it was genuine.  "I will." He stood up. "Now I'll get out of your hair. I know better than to mess with date night."

Marinette giggled.  "A fiend having a crisis trumps date night."

"Definitely," Luka agreed.

"That's really nice to know, but I'm good for now," he promised.

"You're not going to go out drinking, are you?" She gave him a stern glare.  

Adrien shook his head.  "Still not a drinker, Mari. If my father couldn't drive me to it, I suspect it's just not my thing"  He sighed. "Oh, hey, I love the hair." He reached out and touched the strands of red she'd pulled up on the sides to create a colorful ponytail over the loose black hair.  "It really suits you. Fun, but on your terms."

"Thanks," Marinette said with a laugh.  The day they'd done her hair was a ton of fun.

"We did it last week," Luka added. "And it's been well received."

"I can see why."  He leaned in and gave each of them another hug and a quick bise. "Catch you later."

Marinette grinned when she realized she and Luka were both watching him walk away with the same degree of interest.  She waited for a few moments after the door closed before turning to her boyfriend. "He has an unfairly perfect butt."

Luka laughed and grabbed her in a hug that pulled her onto his lap. "Just one more thing we agree on. And those legs… hmmm."  He nuzzled her neck. "He's gonna come hang out with me Tuesday afternoon when you're working that shift at the bakery. I think we're going to figure out his plan of action, once he's picked a path. You should come over when you're done and we can make him dinner or something.  He needs supportive friends right now."

"Is his rebellion imminent?" she asked, leaning back to look at him.

Luka nodded.  "I really can't see any way for him to get out of his current situation otherwise. He's tried the sensible adult options. He's tried talking to his… father. Ugh, such a repulsive man." He kissed her cheek. "But enough about Adrien. It is date night, after all, and I'm really excited about this."

"Maybe scale your expectations back a bit," she suggested.  "I'm not that great a dancer. I love it, but…" She leaned into him to hold up her feet, her toes wiggling.  "Two left feet."

Dancing with Luka was somehow both better than just making out, yet also ten times more frustrating. Neither of them were big fans of public displays of affection, so any grabbing or touching had to be extra subtle or extra sneaky, so she was both literally sweaty and completely hot and bothered when they finally stumbled out of the crowded club onto the sidewalk.  They hadn't gone three meters when she stopped and grabbed him by the belt loops to pull him close. The only bad part of dating Luka was that he was so damn tall she couldn't kiss him without pulling him down, jumping, or literally climbing him, which she hadn't tried yet, though she was sorely tempted. Fortunately they were on the same page, and he bent to capture her lips with his.

His kiss seared through her, igniting the heat in her belly to explode throughout her entire body. She forgot about things like public decency or the lengthy walk home, focusing solely on the moment. When he broke the kiss, he didn't pull away. He rested his forehead against hers, his eyes still closed, as his hot breath caressed her face in sharp pants. It was nice that he was as affected as she was. She slipped one hand into his hair, and his eyes fluttered open.

"Stay with me tonight," he asked softly. "Please Nette."

She shivered in delight at the thought that he wanted her. They'd had at least three conversations about sex in the last few weeks, agreeing to let it happen naturally without rushing or overly scheduling it.

"We don't have to do anything you don't want to," he promised.

"What if I want to do… things ?" she asked, gently tugging at his hair. "What if I want to be the one to rock your world for a change?" She grinned when he gasped, closing his eyes. "Think you'd be up for that?"  Chat Noir would laugh his tail right off if he ever learned that she'd propositioned her boyfriend with puns.

"Very much so," he sighed. He loosened his hold and stepped back, catching her hand when she did the same. "Let's go." They still had several blocks and a subway to catch.  "And on the way, I think we should get creative to… sustain the mood."

She raised her eyebrows, looking at him in question as they walked faster than necessary down the sidewalk.

"Little things that aren't indecent, but… titillate," he suggested.  "I can go first."

"Please do." She wasn't sure what he was looking for, and she did not trust her ability to provide dirty talk.  At least not any that wouldn't result in laughter.

"That thing you did with my hair was super hot," he pointed out.

"Aaah. I've noticed that you like it when I play with your hair."

He nodded, pink washing over his cheeks.  "Yeah, but that grabbing a fist-full and pulling on it, just a little?  That's definitely a kink."

Ooh.  So that's what he meant. "Did you know about this one?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Nope. It's a new one for me, but I very much liked it and am happy to encourage a repeat later."

They slowed down a bit for the stairs to the subway. "I'll take that under advisement," she said. "Hey, did you know that you're like, ridiculously sexy when you dance?" She couldn't quite bring herself to try for special voice or anything, but her words alone were enough, and he stumbled a little on the last stair.

He was grinning stupidly, his lower lip trapped by his top teeth. "You think I'm sexy?" he asked.

She raised her eyebrows and gave him a look. "Obviously."  She stepped closer to him on the platform. "Adrien's not the only one with an unfairly perfect butt." She loved watching the pink fill in his cheeks as his eyes went wide. "When we were dancing, there were a couple of times I brushed up against it entirely on purpose." The station was deserted, so the worst that could happen was a security guard would catch her copping a feel on video.  She slid her hand up the outside of his thigh, before dragging her fingers around to grab his ass.

He let go of her hand to pull her close, his forehead resting on her shoulder.  "You're too good at this. I think I'm going to die before we get back to my place."

She giggled, basking in the warmth and affection of his embrace. "I've seen you in shorts and without a shirt, and I have to tell you, I really like what I've seen. I'm looking forward to peeling away all your clothes when we get back to your place."

"Yeah?" he asked.  "Then what?"

"I want to touch you everywhere, kiss you everywhere." She let out a startled squeak when his lips attached to the side of her neck. "Aah, you're not supposed to start that now, you know," she spoke in a soft breathy voice.

A gentle rumble warned them of the approaching train, and they stepped just enough apart to be decent.  Once they were seated, side by side in a mostly empty car, Marinette snuggled up to him. Stretching up to breathe across his ear, she whispered to him. "So what's on your wishlist for tonight, Rockstar?"

He closed his eyes and took a slow deep breath. "If you'll let me, I want to make love to you." His eyes fluttered open and focused on hers.  "I want to narrow your awareness to just me, worshiping your body. I want to make you lose all track of time and language as I tease and taste you, learning how you like to be touched to bring you to bring you over the edge."

She squirmed a bit, feeling uncomfortably aroused in the bright light of the subway. She was more than a little tempted to transform so she could get them back to his apartment right now. "I like your plan."  She shivered.

"Oh, I'm not done," he said with a sly smile.  "That's just the warm up, Nette."

"Oh my god," she whined. "If you don't knock it off, I'm going to pin you to the bed and fuck you stupid."

He chuckled. "I'm a fan of that idea, but not tonight.  Tonight isn't about fucking. It's about loving." He ran one thumb under her jawbone as he slid his hand to cup her cheek. "If that's all right with you."

"Since you asked so nicely, I guess we can do it your way," she agreed. She pulled her phone out of her purse and sent a quick text home.

"What are you doing?" he asked, peeking at her screen.

"Making sure my parents don't worry when I'm not there in the morning," she said.  They weren't still up, not with early bakery hours, and her message shouldn't wake them. And while they would probably suspect where she was, it was common courtesy to let them know.

"Is this going to make things weird with them?" he asked, sounding a little nervous.

"Hmmm?"  She tucked away her phone. "Why should it? I'm an adult. They know I've been sexually active, and they much prefer I engage in relationship sex than one night stands." It was something they'd discussed as part of her decision to live at home through university. "It also helps that they like you; they haven't been fully on board with everyone I've dated." When they'd talked about past relationships, she'd been surprised to find that Luka had been in two long term relationships and had done very little casual dating. Her own experience had been a bit more chaotic and varied.

"I like your parents," he said. "It's nice you have such a good relationship with them."

She kissed his cheek.  "I like your ma, too." She gave him a mischievous smile.  "Am I going to have to worry about what she thinks of me, going home with you like this?"

He chuckled. "You know my ma.  She's all about free love."

She felt the subway slow down.  "Oh look. It's our stop." She grabbed his hand and pulled him, laughing, to the door as they were pulling into the station.  "In the morning, I'm going to wear your clothes while I make breakfast."

He pulled her to his chest, leaning over her shoulder to breathe in her ear. "Do that, and I will interrupt you." He relaxed his hold on her as the doors slid open, then it was he who was urging her out of the train and to the steps.

She grinned at him as they walked swiftly, hand in hand. "I'll take that as a promise."

Check out Chapter Four  >>>

This took several days longer than intended. I've kind of over-committed myself on paying projects, which is a good thing when you're a freelancer, but it can put a damper on fun projects. I have some family vacation and spring break coming up next week and hope to get the next chapter in during that.

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If you’re so inclined, feel free to support me over on Ko-Fi

[pointy-hat-witch]

Title: Up ,up you go Series: KiriBakuWeek2019 Show: Boku no Hero Academia Pairing: Kirishima/Bakugou Summary: Bakugou on a hiking trip up a mountain finding unexpected companions A/N: Collection of works for KiriBakuWeek 2019. First time writing KiriBaku, they deserve so much love. Ha.

You can read it on AO3 if you want to! :)

Bakugou’s hands were trembling as he smashed his ice pickle into the wall in front of him. He held tight at its handle when he fumbled the rope through the next anchor and clipped his carabiner through it. His fist loosened its tight grasp on the pickle, dangling in its loop. Bakugou pushed his crampons in the ice and let himself dangle at his secured rope. Carefully, not moving to hastily, he pulled the thin mask from his face and let out a warm breath. He pushed up his snow goggles and took in the sight behind him.

He was about 2000 meter above sea level, snow and ice piling around him, the ground a good 320 meters below him and he was thriving. He was completely alone, the freezing air biting at the exposed skin on his face. He pushed the hood of his hardshell jacket back, ruffling through his hair that was glued to his head due to his excessive sweat. He squinted against the slowly setting sun, blinding as it was, even more so because of the snow, and huffed.

He had to hurry up a little bit to reach the next cliff and find a place to make camp. He wasn’t trying to get himself killed, but a night in the open would make sure of it. He lingered for another minute before he put on his gear again and pushed on. Slowly, ice pickle, one foot up, rope securing, carabiner change, the other ice pickle, other foot, repeat.

It took him another half an hour when he finally reached the edge of the wall he was climbing, pushing himself up with one last, forceful kick. He was catching his breath, slightly leaning forward. He felt the air thinning, just a bit but enough to make it a little harder to breathe, a little more straining on his body to move.

He pulled in his rope, secured it at his belt and trudged on through the hard snow. He had a good hour now to find shelter and he already saw some rocks that looked like they would give him enough protection. Bakugou had the premonition that the “easy” snowfall this night would grow a little fiercer than foretold. He didn’t know why but he always had a knack to judge the weather and upcoming changes with it. And he trusted his gut. No one else, especially not someone who was calculating weather from their warm office when it was him out here relying on this information.

The rocks grew a little in height as Bakugou approached them and he was already thinking about what food he would cook, when to go to sleep and when to wake up again when he heard a slow whimper. He stopped immediately. The wind was subtle, not even howling, so it was definitely not that. He tried to listen but didn’t hear anything else. He shook his head.

When he was about to make the next step, he heard it again. Alarmed Bakugou pushed his hood back down again, cupping his hands behind his ears to give him a better acoustic. He closed his eyes and concentrated and sure enough, a couple of seconds later he heard a small whine. Not hesitating any longer, he stomped in the vague direction he heard the noise, a little east to the rocks he original aimed for. He soon was greeted by a small cluster of similar rocks and when he circled around them, he slipped on the sudden ice in front of him.

Thanks to his reflexes, he grabbed his ice pickle that was dangling at his side and rammed it into the ground before he could slide down any farther.

He huffed and gruffed against his straining arm and calmed his heartbeat down with deep breathes. He chanced a look towards his feet. The slope wasn’t steep, but the ice could be treacherous. He was still a good way up but he saw an abrupt edge at the end of the slope. He swallowed.

He pulled himself up the meter he fell down, a firm grip on his ice pickle that was now slammed into the rock by his side.

“Hello?” He shouted towards the edge. He was careful, not to shout too loud, always on the look-out for an avalanche.

Another whimper.

He cursed under his breath. “Just fuck-- hold up!” He took one of his anchors, hammered it into the ground, pulled his rope through its loop and then through his carabiner at his harness. With steady steps, he walked backwards down the slope. He hadn’t put his crampons back on yet, but he would just surveying the situation at first, he decided. His boots were slipping every other step, which were not really steps anymore just draggings of his feet over the ice. His hands firm on the rope he made his way towards the edge. There, he crashed another anchor into the ground securing the next part of his rope.

Inhaling sharply, Bakugou leaned over the edge and immediately saw another wall next to it. A fucking glacier crevasse, of course. Bakugou cursed again. He pulled his goggles back up and finally looked down the ridge.

The edge was in a perfect right angle and it went down so deep, Bakugou couldn’t even see the ground. What he did see was a small ledge, separating both walls and a—

“The fuck?!” Bakugou grumbled. On the ledge was a fucking dog. Shivering and whimpering. A small cloud puffed before its nostrils. It was cramped up against the ice, helplessly trembling on the slipping ice.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Bakugou couldn’t stop cursing. His hands tighten around the rope as his thoughts started doubling over. Did he have enough rope? Had he some kind of holding device to carry a dog? Was he even able to get a fucking dog out of a fucking crevasse?

The dog had finally noticed him and his tail was wagging more in joy than it was shivering, causing it almost to slip down.

“Shh, shh!” Bakugou hissed. “Just calm—stay put, alright? Stay.” He held up a hand. He never owned a dog, nor any other animal. His social awkwardness wasn’t just limited to humans after all.

He pulled himself up again, the dog whining louder. “It’s okay, it’s okay.” He kept growling, calming the dog. He kept talking, mostly muttering his thoughts out loud to let the dog know, he was still there.

When he was back on safer ground, Bakugou rummaged through his backpack, pulling out everything he had with him. He did have a good amount of clothes with him which he could use as a pouch when knotted together. The problem was still, how in the ever-loving fuck would he get a dog up there?  He couldn’t carry a dog with him and climb up a glacier.

“Oi!”

His head snapped up as a voice reached his ear. A human voice. He squinted against the glistening snow and hissed. He pushed his goggles down and saw a figure walking towards him, on arm waving above their head. They sported a neon red hardshell jacket, so they weren’t exactly hard to make out.

“Hey!” The person yelled again and came over. Bakugou absentmindedly registered, that he came from the same cliff he had climbed up, but from a different angle. The figure was finally near enough to see their wide grin on their face.

“Hey, ma-“ – “Do you fucking lift?” Bakugou interrupted him unceremoniously.

“Uh”, came the intelligent answer. Bakugou rolled back his eyes so hard, he could see the black walls of his eye sockets.

“Do you?!” He snapped.

“Ah, uhm, yeah?” They pushed up their pair of goggles and blinked at him. They didn’t look offended, just genuinely curious.

“How much?”

“Uh, almost 160 kg, I guess?”

In any different situation, Bakugou would be impressed. Well, he still was impressed but didn’t allow himself to mull over it.

“Alright, take this.” He pushed one end of his rope into the stranger's hands and leaned over to fasten his crampons back on.

“Wha—dude, what is going on?” They grabbed the rope nonetheless but fumbled just a little with it as their thought process tried to catch up.

“There is a fucking dog down there.” Bakugou threw his thumb over his shoulder and stood back up.

“What?! No way!” Their head snapped over to the cliff, craning their neck as if to try to see something from this point.

“Yes way.” Bakugou grabbed one of his blankets, drabbed it over his shoulder and slowly began walking downwards again. Why he was trusting this complete stranger with his life, he couldn’t even begin to understand.

“If you fuckmunch let go of me, I fucking kill you.” Bakugou glared at them until his gaze wandered back to the edge of the cliff.

“Wha—hold on!” Stranger A looped the rope around their waist and the end of it around their arm and held it tight in their grip. “Alright.” They nodded and gave Bakugou some leeway to move again. Bakugou reached the edge a little fast this time and peered down, his eyes locking with the dog’s eyes again.

“Stay.” Bakugou tried the same tactic again, hoping the dog would either be trained enough or scared enough to understand what he wanted or some part of him believed the dog would understand him. The dog was still trembling, but it didn’t move as much anymore.

Bakugou kicked his spiked boots against the icy wall, giving Stranger A one last nod as he slowly walked down. He was surprised at how easy it went. The rope was tight around his waist and legs, holding him like a lifeline but still not too restricting against his movements.

His heart was still pounding against his chest, yet he found himself a little rest at ease. The sudden trust he had to have for this stranger was not something he expected to ever have to build. Yet, here he was. Climbing down a glacier crevasse to rescue a dog with the help of a complete stranger, his life in his hands. Literally.

He had to climb down about 10 meters until he reached the shivering dog. It looked miserable. And Bakugou noticed that the decrease of its wiggling wasn’t only because it was happy to see Bakugou but because it was fucking freezing to death at this point.

Bakugou spat out another curse. Finally, another step and he was about the same height as the dog.

“Ok. Now, slowly”, Bakugou reached for the animal, his hands moving slowly towards it to not startle it. Its eyes were big and its tail shivering or waggling, Bakugou couldn’t tell, as he wrapped his hands around its front legs. He gave them an experimental tug and the dog leaped forward.

“Ugh!” Bakugou huffed at the sudden weight. His heart dropped and internally he died a little as the rope gave in just a few inches but stopped right away.

“Everything alright?” Stranger A shouted. Bakugou could hear the restrained undertone. They were far above sea level and this guy just held about 100 kg in the open air.

Bakugou grunted. “Fucking-- yes!”

He kicked his crampons back in the ice to get a more secure stand and wrapped the blanket around the dog. It was pressing against his chest, whining even more. Its tongue darted out, licking over his face and Bakugou couldn’t help but smile.

“Easy, easy.” He pulled the blanket in a loop around his back, pulled tightly at the knot and gave his rope a short nudge.

“Fucking pull us up!” He wasn’t entirely sure, but he thought he heard faint laughter before the rope tightened and he felt himself almost lifted up. He followed the pull, one step after another, arms wrapped around the dog, trying to keep it calm.

He was sweating profusely when they reached the edge, but Bakugou didn’t let himself relax until he reached the safer space of snow again, almost dropping to his knees.

“Woah, dude, you okay?” Stranger A kneeled down beside him, eyes darting back and forth between him and the dog.

“Fucking peachy.” He huffed. His eyes followed Stranger A’s concerned eyes, finding the dog’s eyes drooping. It almost stopped shivering, only a slight tremor in its torso.

“No, no. You fucker. I didn’t just climb down there for you to die.” He hissed, glaring down at the small face but felt panic rise within him. He had his arms wrapped around the bundle, grapping for other clothes he had stuffed in his backpack when another hand grabbed his own.

“Dude, breath.”

Bakugou’s eyes shot up and found Stranger A looking at him with wide eyes. Their face was tense but a lot calmer than his own. He pressed his lips together and yanked his hand away.

“We need someplace warm.” Bakugou gritted through his teeth but took some deep breaths to calm down.

Stranger A nodded, helping to gather his stuff and putting everything back inside the bag. They then pointed towards the rocks Bakugou had intended to head for.

“We could set up camp there. It’s pretty sheltered from the wind. I have a small heater with me, we can put it up in the tent.”

Bakugou just nodded again. He made a makeshift hood for the dog which was fasted tightly against his chest and pulled up his own hood.

“We need to hurry the fuck up.” He squinted against the setting sun. The temperature was dropping fast and he already saw clouds pull up on the sky. The rescue took precious time for finding shelter and putting up a secure camping place.

Stranger A followed his gaze and shrugged. “It was said to just snow sli-“

“It won’t.” Bakugou snapped. He started stomping through the snow, not looking back if the other person is following him.

“What do you mean?” The voice was directly next to him, not fazed by his brisk demeanor.

“It’s gonna be a fucking snow storm.” He gritted through his teeth. Setting a fast pace, Bakugou hoped, they wouldn’t be caught too far away from the rocks and have enough shelter to get their tents up.

“H-how do you know that?” Their eyes darted towards the cloud and trying to see the same thing Bakugou was apparently seeing.

“I just fucking know, okay?!” There was no time to discuss this, they had to get there, now. Fortunately, Stranger A didn’t question him further and just followed, matching his pace without complaining.

“I’m Kirishima Eijirou by the way.”

Bakugou clenched his jaw. “Con-fucking-gratulation.”

Kirishima laughed next to him. “And you?” Was all he said in response, making Bakugou grit his teeth even more. Well, Kirishima did help him just now, Bakugou could give out his name, he supposed.

“Bakugou.”

“Bakugou …?” Kirishima nudged his arm with his elbow, grinning over his scarf. His face was almost completely covered by his goggles and the headlamp he had put on earlier, but Bakugou could very well see the sharp teeth sparkling between red lips.

“Katsuki.” He huffed in annoyance.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Bakugou Katsuki.” Kirishima chirped. “Even if the circumstances could have been better.”

Bakugou gave a small shrug. “Better than letting it die there.” The dog was puffing out small breaths, still slightly shivering. It was not ideal but Bakugou was grateful it didn’t stop moving. It was fighting. It better was.

They kept silent for the rest of the way, putting all their strength to get to their destination but they were only two-thirds of the way up when snow started to fall.

“Fuck.” Bakugou growled, pulling the makeshift hood deeper over the dog’s head, so no snow will fall into the pouch. They tried to move more quickly, but since the sun had already set, the only light source was Kirishima’s headlamp and even that got harder to see with, with the snow rapidly obscuring their vision.

At some point, Kirishima pulled out his rope and looped one end through the loop of Bakugou’s harness and the other one around his own. Bakugou bit back his protest, knowing fairly well, it was the right choice. If somehow, they would get separated, they wouldn’t find each other again.

And as Bakugou expected, the snow fell heavier by the minute, the wind picked up and in under 10 minutes, they walked leaning against the wind to not be blown away. They had their jackets zipped to the top, hoods pushed deep over their foreheads and every now and then wiped away the snow away from their goggles.

Bakugou cursed internally, that he didn’t put on his parka earlier, that would have helped a great deal, but here he was. Clamming his hands in the fabric around the dog, making sure it wouldn’t get ripped away by the howling storm. The dog was quietly whimpering under his chin, for what Bakugou was grateful in terms that he knew it was still alive.

The snow was scrunching beneath their feet, that much Bakugou could hear, and when his next step didn’t crunch and gave in too much, he knew he was fucked. Again.

Trying to lean back on his other leg before the snow would crumble away, an especially gruesome gust of wind rammed into his side. His foot slipped on the soft patch of snow and in the next moment, he saw the ground coming in fast. Bakugou turned his body to the side, both arms wrapped tightly around the dog, and hit the ground with his shoulder. He grunted at the impact. It wasn’t that bad, mostly cushioned by the snow but his heart dropped again that day when he felt himself sliding to the side. The soft snow must have concealed a shallow slope but with the sliding snow, it could be a death trap.

“SLOPE!” Bakugou shouted against the snow, only hoping Kirishima would hear him. His head whipped around, everything dark around him as he disorientedly slid down into the darkness. Then, he saw a small glowing dot in the near distance. His body jerked and he came to a halt. The rope around his waist stretched above him, holding him in place.

Bakugou’s breath came back in small heaves. He was never more grateful for a partner. Especially, a partner who was standing unwavering against the storm. With the next sharp inhale, he grabbed the rope with one hand, finding his balance back on his feet and climbed the shallow hillside up again.

“You okay?” Kirishima’s voice cut through the storm when they were almost face-to-face. Bakugou squinted his eyes against the headlamp and slapped Kirishima against his arm in affirmation.

Bakugou continued leading the way, trusting his sense of orientation. They walked approximately another 15 minutes until they reached the rocks. The wind wasn’t as harsh anymore in their vicinity, but they were still struggling to keep steady on their feet. Bakugou pushed down his backpack, fishing out his tent an started hammering down its anchors. Kirishima was at his side immediately, taking the fabric and stretching the loops around the anchors. It took them a while to get the tent up, carefully fighting against the wind and snow, but eventually, it was held up. They scrambled inside.

It was only a single person tent and, therefore, they were a tight fit. Two grown men and a dog, nonetheless. Kirishima pulled up the zip as soon as they were inside, while Bakugou ripped out his sleeping bag and finally peeling out the shivering dog. It whined against his touch and Bakugou made a face.

“C’mon, this will help you.” He grumbled and muttered when he finally got the dog out of the make shift pouch and stuffed it inside his sleeping bag, a spare jacket pushed around it for additional heat.

Kirishima scrambled around him for his own backpack and pulled out a small heater which he turned on immediately. It should warm up pretty quickly and he set it down right next to the dog.

Bakugou peeled himself free from his gloves and goggles. Not yet trusting to get rid of his hard shell jacket, he only zipped it open, then stripped out of his shoes. For not getting frostbites, he put on another pair of socks. Kirishima sitting next to him, following almost the same procedure, bumped into his side constantly. In contrast to Bakugou, he pulled down his hard-shell jacket, revealing his black soft jacket underneath.

After they got a little more comfortable, they felt the heat already spread out in their confined space. Bakugou leaned over the dog, carefully rubbing over its head. The dog opened its eyes and looked at him with big brown eyes, panting heavily. This was a good sign, he assumed since until now it was just barely breathing. In a swift movement, he grabbed for his water bottle and a small pot, filling it with water and set it down in front of the dog.

“Drink up.” The low grumbled made the dog scoff once as if to imitate the sound. It was struggling against its own trembles, so Bakugou held the pot a little sideways. It tilted its head and was leaping at the water. Bakugou kept stroking the fur out of its face, scratching its ears.

“Good boy.” He mumbled.

“You sure it’s a boy?” Kirishima finally piped up. He had kept his eyes on Bakugou and the dog, not daring to interrupt that tender moment.

“Huh?” Bakugou’s head snapped up and for the first time actually looked at Kirishima without his hat and hood up. His eyes widened at the red hair that sprawled around Kirishima’s face. He wore a white headband to keep it out of his face and it was pulled up in a small ponytail, but after getting it out from all the fabric it stuck out in every direction.

“What’s up with the shitty hair?” He scrunched up his face only to be greeted by an open-mouthed laugh.

“Look at yourself first!” Kirishima grinned. He pulled up his legs, folding his arms around his knees. “I think it’s a girl.” He nodded toward the dog. Bakugou blinked, attention back to their companion.

“Why?” He asked after a while.

“Their snout and ears.” Kirishima said, tipping against his own nose and ear as he said that. “They are different between male and female. So,” he shrugged non-committal.

“And you know that why?” Bakugou grew frustrated as he had to pull out every information to meticulously. He didn’t even know why he kept asking. It didn’t even matter.

“Am a veterinarian.” His smile grew a little wider. Bakugou rolled his eyes.

“’f course you are.” There was no heat in his words, despite the harsh tone. The pot was empty now and the dog was breathing a little more even, her eyes rummaging around their tent.

“What do you think happened?” Kirishima skidded up slowly, now finally allowing himself into their space and petted her head as well. Her tail was wagging so vigorously, it showed through all the fabric. Kirishima laughed rubbing her ears with both hands.

Bakugou folded his arms in front of his chest, eyeing them both. After a few seconds, he shrugged. “Some fucker thought it would be a great idea to take their dog on a hike, slipped and fell down the glacier crevasse, pulling their dog with them. Only to die and almost letting their dog fucking freeze to death.”

Kirishima hummed. It was the most plausible solution. It was hard to say, what was down that crevasse and with the dog right there it could be a possibility.

“Or she fell down the crevasse and her fucking owner just left her.”

Kirishima’s head whipped around. “No way!” He gasped. “That would be … terrible! Awful! Horrendous!” He held the dog’s ear close as if to not let her hear it.

“News flash, shitty hair, humans are fucking awful.” Bakugou shrugged again. Kirishima just shook his head again, mumbling incredulously.

They sat in silence for a while, until Bakugou’s stomach growled quietly. He pushed his lips up in a scowl and grabbed his backpack, pulling it from behind Kirishima. The latter following his example turned around to his own and they both unwrapped their food containers. They didn’t have the luxury of boiling water to heat up their food, not even thinking about trying it inside their tent, therefore, opting for their meals that could be eaten uncooked. It wasn’t as satisfying but having food inside them made them feel a little more alive.

Bakugou took some small bites in his hand, holding it up to the dog who lashed her tongue out and licked his hand clean every time. They ate in silence until their food was gone. The dog’s eyes were a little lidded and soon after she fell asleep, curling up inside the warmth of the sleeping bag with even breaths.

Bakugou finally let himself exhale in relief. He had his legs pulled up similar to Kirishima and had his forehead propped up against his fists. This day went awry in unexpected and almost horrible ways, he never could have thought of.

“How you holding up?”

Bakugou’s eyes snapped up between his hands and found Kirishima’s, wide, inquisitive, genuinely caring. The whole situation felt strange, so Bakugou didn’t question his guts churning at the almost adorable look. He came close to death this day two times, which were two times too often. He just shook his head, his breath trembling every so lightly.

“Thanks.” He pressed out between tight lips.

Kirishima just hummed in affirmation. “We should hit the sack as well.” He settled with eventually, already turning around to grab his own sleeping bag. Bakugou huffed and grabbed for the rest of his clothes. He could at least pull on some extra layers and roll up to his sleeping back to get a little comfortable.

“Dude”, Kirishima laughed, “you’re sleeping with me. No way, I let you sleep without a proper sleeping bag. Bakugou’s eyes widen just a fraction by the suggestion and he already had a curse on his lips, a refusal at the tip of his tongue as he looked at Kirishima who held his sleeping bag open.

“Fucking- alright.” He cursed up a storm internally. It was fucking cold, he was exhausted physically and mentally and he just wanted to have a good night's sleep. Tomorrow it would probably get terrible to bring the dog down this mountain.

He crawled on his knees toward Kirishima, slipping right next to him, his back flush against the broad chest. He swallowed. Kirishima pulled up another thick blanket over them since they couldn’t zip up the sleeping bag, using the blanket to trap the heat underneath it. Bakugou sighed silently by the warmth engulfing him.

Kirishima had his head pillowed on his arm, the other he slowly let dangle over Bakugou’s waist. Bakugou’s eyes snapped open and he threw a glare over his shoulder.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

Kirishima let out a breathy chuckle. “It’s more comfortable this way.”

Bakugou saw Kirishimas eyelids dropping heavily, almost as heavy as his own. He huffed and turned back around. “Keep your hands to yourself.”

“Yes, yes.” He could hear the smile behind these words. The warm steady breaths from Kirishima tickled against his neck, not displeasing in any way so Bakugou let it slide. He was too tired anyway.

His eyes shut close and the last thoughts he could muster were about a dog by his side, running alongside him and strong arms around him. Huh, wouldn’t it be a good hiking trip with a dog and Kirishima by his side?

[chelseawolfemusic]

Chelsea Wolfe Interview / Cover Story // Revolver

Full feature via REVOLVER

Chelsea Wolfe has escaped into the woods and she's not about to come back. You'll find the singer-guitarist in the mountains of Northern California, hours from her Sacramento hometown, where the closest she gets to city life is in some tiny, ancient hamlets left behind from the Gold Rush days.

It's quiet up there, which might help explain the acoustic direction of her next album, a mostly solo project she's been writing and recording in her living room, her garage, wherever there's space to dig into Wolfe's new songs that are both intimate and biting, delicate and fierce. As an artist, she was already hard to pin down, with elements of folk, goth, post-punk, industrial, metal and more woven deep into her grooves. "I move in extremes, hot or cold," she says. "I tend to combine those two things at all times."

The still-untitled album is a left turn from the explosive rock guitars that dominated 2017's acclaimed Hiss Spun, with its churning songs of white noise and epic melodies. This year, she returns to her core inspirations, and the playlist Wolfe is spinning on infinite loop are recordings by Townes Van Zandt and Neurosis, Johnny Cash and David Bowie, disparate songwriters who cut deep. That makes the new album a kind of follow-up to her smoldering 2012 release Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs, which gathered leftover folk tunes of a certain understated volume that hadn't fit on her other albums.

This one is different in that Wolfe is building this collection from the ground up, intentionally working within her own version of folk on songs written over the last year. She has longtime collaborator Ben Chisholm co-producing and engineering, and occasional guest players to add subtle layers of sound, including drummer Jess Gowrie. But she is determined to make this a solo project as raw and as cooked as the early country music and folk she heard growing up, with a modern message suited to the moment.

With Hiss Spun, her following only grew wider, and she's seeing fans with her lyrics tattooed to their skin. Wolfe is responding with new songs that both embrace and challenge, exploring the trials and triumphs of feminism, present and past, within an ever-changing world order that she's encouraged to see has a new wave of women rising to power in the U.S. Congress.

"I just follow my instincts and I follow all the strange and different voices that live inside me and I don't hold them back," says Wolfe, "especially not anymore."

photograph by John Crawford

YOUR LAST ALBUM, HISS SPUN, HAD A LOT OF EXPLOSIVE GUITAR MOMENTS. IS THIS ACOUSTIC RECORD A REACTION AWAY FROM THAT? CHELSEA WOLFE Honestly, I didn't know exactly what I was going to do next. I was so completely enveloped and focused on doing that record. And it was cathartic for me. That record felt very internal, but very explosive, as well, letting a lot of things out I hadn't thought about or talked about before. Maybe the natural reaction to that is to retreat into the wilderness and just write a really quiet album. It's introspective, but it's also about the history of women and what we've gone through over these years and how a lot has changed, a lot hasn't changed.

IS THAT INSPIRED BY RECENT EVENTS IN THE WORLD? I'm sure it is. Part of it has to do with just being a woman and getting older and understanding things more and just feeling that really visceral reaction to the way women are treated and seeing it on the daily in our society and on the news.

THIS ISN'T YOUR FIRST ACOUSTIC PROJECT. DO YOU GET A DIFFERENT FEELING ONSTAGE WHEN YOU'RE ALONE VERSUS BEING WITH A BAND AND HAVING AN ELECTRIC GUITAR IN YOUR HANDS? I haven't done shows by myself onstage in a really long time and it's not so easy for me. It's definitely more comfortable to have your band with you and to be able to lose yourself in all these sounds and things that you're creating together. But I also feel really ready and excited to do that, even though it's scary. I like to push myself into new territories musically and physically. Heavy music can be really intimate, and solo can be very intimate. So in a way it's the same thing, being up there and baring your soul for people.

HOW IS THE NEW RECORD BEING MADE? I'm recording it at home. Originally, I really wanted to do everything myself. Sometimes as a female artist, if one man is involved with one little thing on your record, they end up getting a lot more credit for it. I was being a little defensive at first. But as I started approaching it, I felt like that was actually a very lonely way of doing things and it didn't sound like much fun. So I decided to involve Ben, and he's helping engineer it so that I can just focus on recording the parts and not having to run back and forth to the board or computer.

I really wanted to play every song just with me and an acoustic guitar. That was important for me. So they all started in that way. We might add some electric guitar, or some kind of electronic beats to it.

I sat down with Ben and that really helped me finish everything — we would talk about a song and then I would run upstairs to my writing room and suddenly have all these lyrics that finished a song.

HOW ARE THE NEW SONGS RELATED TO SOME OF THE QUIETER MOMENTS ON HISS SPUN? I think it's different. I did Unknown Rooms, which was a compilation of a lot of acoustic songs I'd written over the years. They were just written with the idea of playing them as a solo artist in mind. I think every record definitely is going to have some heavy moments and some soft moments. Abyss had "Crazy Love" and Hiss Spun had "Two Spirit." It's just part of me to oscillate between the two.

CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT ONE OF THE SONGS? One is called "Be All Things." It's very introspective and it's very triumphant. Conceptually, it's about a Victorian-era woman who is a maiden but very much wants to be a warrior — and just thinking about nature and environmentalism and how long that has been a problem and how we're trying to make changes but still we're just destroying the earth. Just when it seems like something's changing, it just gets worse. I think my music in general represents the soft and the strong, embracing the feminine and masculine of myself. This album is very much along the theme of that dichotomy. And I think a lot of people can relate to that, as well, whether it's a man or woman, a non-gender-specific person. I think a lot of people are starting to embrace that about themselves, the soft and strong, and then really finding that empowering.

DID THAT COME AS A REACTION TO SOMETHING? It's a bit of a reaction, but it's also just something that's really been a part of me for a long time. I'm not just one thing. You can't really put me or my music into a box. Sometimes that's frustrating for me because I think maybe it holds me back in a way, but then sometimes I think that is why I've been able to do what I do and why I have any kind of success as an artist and a musician. I'm saying in the song: "I want to be all things." I don't want to be held back anymore and I don't want to feel like I need to quiet my voice. I just want to be who I am and be free.

IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL THAT WAY. JUST LOOK AT HOW MANY WOMEN WERE RECENTLY ELECTED TO CONGRESS. Exactly. It's amazing. And I think it's very indicative of this time and more and more women and non-gender-specific people are really starting to speak up for themselves and let go of the fear of that. So that's definitely a strong theme with this new album.

HOW HAVE YOU EVOLVED AS A LYRICIST SINCE YOUR FIRST RECORDS? I'm a much better writer and I'm taking the time to really make sure I'm saying the right thing. As a younger artist, I would just write a song and then that was it. I never really went back and fixed up the lyrics or changed a word if I didn't like it. I love words and I love reading and I love thinking about language and how to make something sound the best way but also infuse a lot of meaning into even just a short phrase. On this new album, I'm using some archaic language to talk about new things.

HOW ARE YOU USING ARCHAIC LANGUAGE? I was spending some time with my great-grandmother before she died and I would often write down a word here and there that you don't hear anymore. Jess is very much like that, too. She was raised by her grandparents, so she has a lot of cute old phrases that she says that you don't hear very often. There's a moment [on the record] with the word "daylight plumed my skin." That's something I've probably read in some old poetry books. It's something sensual, and I'm always trying to bring sensuality into language and keeping that alive because I feel like sometimes that is a dying art.

ASIDE FROM YOUR OWN TOURS OVER THE LAST YEAR, YOU DID TOURS WITH MINISTRY AND A PERFECT CIRCLE. HOW DID THAT GO? I'm such a big fan of Ministry and they're really great — but I don't think their audience was as open as I thought they might be. So it was a little bit tough if I'm honest. I got really aggro on the Ministry tours because sometimes it felt like their audience was just looking at us with disgust. Not all of them. Of course, there were some really nice people that wanted to be open to it. It ended up being fun and it brings you and your band closer together, too. I just took it as another learning experience.

Al [Jourgensen] was so great and he would invite us onto his bus after the show and just talk about music and stuff for a long time. We would overhear him describing us to other people, talking about me and Jess: "They're women and they're angry and they're making good music!" It was really cute.

A Perfect Circle was very different. Their audience was a lot more accepting of us for some reason. Definitely bigger venues than I've ever played. I have a long way to go in knowing how to work a room of 8,000 people because that's totally different than what I'm used to be playing. Maynard actually invited us out to his winery. We got to experience his wine and homegrown vegetables and stuff. It was really cool.

YOUR FANS SEEM WILLING TO FOLLOW YOU THROUGH YOUR SHIFTS IN TONE. AND NOBODY REALLY KNOWS WHAT THEY LIKE UNTIL THEY SEE OR HEAR IT. That's true. And I think it makes you a better artist when you do things that people aren't expecting. It's like when I heard Black Sabbath doing the song "Changes" the first time — after hearing all their other heavy music. Them doing something so touching and intimate helped me understand the freedom to just sing whatever song is calling to you.

[imaginexmeintheuniverse]

Sister’s Date

A lovely anon requested: #21 macgyver x reader

21. Character A is pretending to be their friend’s lover for the sake of the friend’s family. Character B is said friend’s sibling.

Pairing: Angus MacGyver x Reader

Word Count: 1, 333

Tags: @coltcas

Masterlist | Christmas Drabbles

A/N: I know it’s the day after xmas but I got so many more requests than I thought I would and will hopefully finish up all the requests today so I can get to the New Year’s stuff!

"But Riley..." you groan, heavily dragging out your sister's name. On the other end of the line, Riley rolls her eyes at your melodramatic antics. "I move back to LA, and you're leaving me to be the only singleton at the Christmas Eve dinner?"

"I needed to get everyone off my back this year," she explains, to which you heave out a long sigh.

Every year the whole family has a big Christmas Eve dinner— save for your asshole father, and every year, all your relatives nag the two of you for still being single. You have been dating someone since you moved from the other big city, but that is on the extremity of the 'down low'; absolutely no one else knows. Back to the point, you don't want to be grilled alone, and if you're being completely honest with yourself, you're mostly annoyed that she didn't tell you she was seeing someone serious enough to bring them to a family dinner.

"It's not fair," you whine like a child and you hear her chuckle at you on her end. "And why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?"

"Well, it's not a boyfriend- uh, well, not exactly- it's complicated—"

"So uncomplicate it and tell me who it is! Is it someone I know?"

"Remember my friend, Angus MacGyver, from work?" Well shit. "We- we're not dating or anything- he's just going to pose as my boyfriend so I don't have to suffer this year."

"Well he is one of your best friends, right?" You tone does a complete 180 and has raised in pitch, so you wrap up the call before she can tell something is up with you. "It's perfect! He'll be able to answer any questions he gets grilled about—"

"Y/N, are you okay—"

"Everything's fine! I just really gotta go- bye!"

Heaving out a sigh, you let yourself fall back on your bed. Looks like you're going to have to take the heat alone this year, and Angus MacGyver is going to pretend to be your sister's boyfriend.

Just perfect.

The party is in full swing— or at least as much as a family gathering can be, and Riley has yet to arrive yet. You've already gotten an earful from your mother and her best friend, and you definitely aren't prepared for whatever your aunts have in store for you. Just as you plan you're planning your escape, Riley walks through the front door, arm looped through MacGyver's.

You rush to the door, swallowing down the pang of jealousy that hit you, and greet them. Avoiding eye-contact with your sister's date, you pull her into a hug.

"Y/N, you remember Mac, right?" Great. Now you have no choice but to interact with him.

"Of course," you say, plastering on the fakest smile. He nods, giving you an awkward smile and an even more awkward handshake. You laugh in an attempt to lighten what subtle tension has built up. "How could I forget?"

"Okay," Riley cuts through whatever weird vibes you're giving off, looking back and forth between you and Mac. "I'm going to go introduce him to the rest of the family."

You follow closely behind the pair as they make the rounds, and at some point you consider just ducking out of the whole party if it weren't for the fact that you don't get to see your family that often. Although right now you feel like you've had too much of them. You are, once again, have totally zoned out in the process of planning your escape when Riley snaps you out of your thoughts.

"Y/N," she calls, you waving a hand. "Would you show Mac where the bathroom is please."

You half-glare at Mac, who has his hands in his pockets and wears a slightly awkward but cute smile, and then shift your focus back to Riley. Softening your expression, you nod at her and gesture for Mac to follow you. He quickens his pace to catch up to you and once he's at your side, he leans down to whisper in your ear, "I don't really have to go to the bathroom—"

"No shit, Sherlock," You clip.

After checking to make sure the coast was clear you shut the door as quietly as you can. You turn back to face a grinning Mac who approaches you with his arms outstretched.

"Hey, babe—"

"What were you thinking!" You whisper-yell, smacking his arms away.

"Hey—"

"Pretending to be my sister's boyfriend?!"

"Is this Riley's old bedroom?" You shoot Mac a glare for trying to change the subject.

"Yes it is— that's not the point here!" Running both hands through your hair, you let out an exasperated sigh. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that Riley is one of my best friends and I wanted to help her out," He nervously rubs the back of his neck— the man can always think fast and save the day, but he has no idea how to dismantle this bomb. "And that I could meet your family, so when we do start telling people about us, they might already like me," he explains, although it sounds more like a question, the uncertainty written all over his features.

"Except for one minor detail," your voice is calm, which scares him much more than if you were shouting. "You're here with the wrong sibling!"

This leads to you going into a nervous ramble; freaking out and trying to figure a way out of this mess. The reason you had chosen to keep your relationship under wraps was because Mac works with Riley and is one of his best friends, so if things ever went south with the two of you, it wouldn't affect you or his relationship with her as badly. Not to mention, Riley would flip if she found out.

"Hey, hey," Mac breaks you out of your panicked trance, placing a hand on each of your shoulders. "I'm sorry- I-I know I messed up on this one, but we're going to figure it out."

His hands slide up to cup your face and he leans down to press his lips to your forehead. The light pressure soothes you, and then you think that maybe things won't turn out as bad and everything could go over smoothly. Mac pulls back, still holding your face in his warm hands and searches your eyes to make sure you're okay. You give him a lopsided smile and his lips curve up into one too at the sight of yours before bringing them down to meet yours.

As your lips mould together like perfectly matching parts of a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, you know that what he says is true. What you and Mac have is fun, and messy, but the two of you are a team and you can work through whatever it is the two of you have. Maybe it's love, or maybe it's too early to think about it, but you don't want to think about it right now.

"Really, Y/N?" Both you and Mac jump apart at the sudden interruption. "Were not even here for fifteen minutes and I find you making out with my date?!"

"R-Riley it's not what you think—"

"We-we weren't—"

"So what is going on?!"

You and Mac share a glance before looking back at her and simultaneously saying, "It's complicated."

She crosses her arms over her chest and plops down on her bed, a smirk spreading through her features as she slowly begins piecing together the situation. "Well then, uncomplicate it."

Mac instinctively reaches for your hand, taking it in his larger one. The two of you share yet another glance as though telepathically going over what you're going to tell her. Neither of you had even talked about telling anyone any time soon, but it looks like now you don't have much of a choice.

And who better to start with than your sister?